Breaking news from the department of obvious comes the widely expected announcement that Washington's new golden boy has been named Time's Person of the Year. And while this clearly gets filed under "no shit, Sherlock," the accolade is richly deserved. The most improbable of longshots overcame back alley knife fights with both the Democratic establishment and a make believe maverick while simultaneously rejuvenating America's image, forever changing the campaign template for future politicos. Reporter David Von Drehle echoes the inevitability as such:

"He hit the American scene like a thunderclap, upended our politics, shattered decades of conventional wisdom and overcame centuries of the social pecking order."

After parlaying the "You" acknowledgement in '07 as a resume reference, this reasoning sounds about right.



While the final choice was a no brainer, brainstorming went underway for the JV squad. The also rans with lovely parting gifts were Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and film director Zhang Yimou, who designed the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

But all of that is besides the point since the good folks at Time buried the lede. The real gem of the story is the online feature reveals #44 at his adorkable best. Previously unseen photos of the president-elect striking poses as a freshman at Occidental College taken by amateur lenser Lisa Jack back when I was still gurgling Gerber in 1980.

She doesn't remember much about first encountering him at the Cooler, a campus snack shop. "He was really cute," she says. "What else does a 20-year-old girl remember?"

Does it matter that I'm mentally reliving Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5" because of the Panama hat?

No question O-man could've gotten the business, magnetic bracelet be damned.

From Barbizon rising star to Time cover magnet almost 3 decades later. What a strange and remarkable trip it's been.

Labels: Barack Obama, photos, politics, Time magazine