Most Influential

As 2008 comes to a close, a lot of websites, magazines, newspapers, TV shows, etc., will be reminiscing about the fantastic year that was 2008. And it was a fantastic year, well for the most part. The presidential race was electrifying, the Beijing Olympics was stunning, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first historically black Greek letter sorority, celebrated 100 years, and J.Jack* turned 25. That is a pretty good year.

Time magazine just named President-Elect Barack Obama person of the year and rightly so. I may be a bit biased... okay I am biased, but no one else deserves the title. President-Elect Obama, whether you like him or not, took the world by storm with his presidential campaign. The only person who came close was Sarah Palin, but her domination was on a national level, not a global one, unless we count Russia of course, and she was only in the forefront for two months of our lives then faded into obscurity. Definitely not enough credentials to be person of the year.

MSNBC just released their list for the most influential men and women of 2008 and for the most part I agree with the list- Barack and Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Tina Fey, Usain Bolt, and Michael Phelps just to name a few. You can view the full list here.

Here's why I'm mad:

Miley Cyrus? Huh? Did I miss something here? Miley Cyrus did manage to build an empire with her Hannah Montana brand (do not ask me how she did this), but is that enough to make her one of the most influential women of 2008? Who did she influence? As I read the article, I was left wondering what mark did she leave on the world, besides a blond wig and a host of screaming pre-teen fans. Cyrus, as talent-less as she may be, is a very smart girl who is one of the richest teenagers in America. But she is just that- a girl. If this list was produced by Nickelodeon, I would have no qualms whatsoever, however it is not. This is MSNBC and they could have done better. They could have done LOADS better- Nancy Pelosi, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, or J.K. Rowling better.

To boot, they added the Jonas Brothers, another Nickelodeon alum to the list. I am not so angry about them because they used their celebrity status to bring more awareness to diabetes and they also have a fund that donates to 5 charities. HOWEVER, I am pretty sure MSNBC could have done better there too. Al Gore, Vladimir Putin or Muntadar al-Zaidi could have easily graced the list.

When talking about people who are influential, you mention men and women who made or are making a substantial impact for better or for worst. Not Miley Cyrus. Besides turning little girls' and parents' world upside down and being slightly schizo, she does not deserve to be on this list. Forbe's list? Yes. People's hottest 25 under 25? Sure. MSNBC's most influential? Not so much.

*personal plug