I'm sure no one is too awfully surprised, but Time Magazine has named Barack Obama the 2008 Person of the Year.

I think it is pretty clear why the first African-American President-elect would be named the Person of the Year, but here's why Time says they picked Obama:

"For having the confidence to sketch an ambitious future in a gloomy hour, and for showing the competence that makes Americans hopeful he might pull it off, the president-elect is Time's Person of the Year."

Last year's Time Magazine picked Russian President Vladimir Putin. George Bush was named Person of the Year in 2004 and 2000, after winning his two bids for the White House.