The Mideast Record-Courier: Atlasian of the Year (2016)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The Mideast Record-Courier's ATLASIAN OF THE YEAR Award is an anual poll based on TIME Magazine's Person of the Year. The idea is to select the individual, or group of individuals, who had the greatest impact on Atlasia in 2016. Keep in mind that "influence" can be positive or negative; for instance, past recipients of the TIME award include Hitler, Stalin, and the Ayatollah Khomeni. You may vote for as many nominees as you would like; an "other" option exists to facilitate nominations from the gallery (be sure to state the intended recipient of your vote so that it may be counted in the final tally); the poll will close at 4:30 PM (EST) on December 31.

Link to the 2015 Thread

President Adam Griffin

Following his upset victory in the February 2016 presidential election, Griffin presided over the successful conclusion of the ConCon and was elected to the Senate from the newly consolidated Region of Fremont in October.

President Blair

Few politicos can claim to be so well-traveled as President Blair, who began 2016 as the Governor of the Old Northeast, launched a primary challenge against his party's incumbent president in February and lost, only to become chairman of Atlasia's largest center-left party, contribute to the completion of the Fourth Constitution, win election to the Senate, and - not once, but twice - tie with his conservative counterpart in one of the most controversial and hotly contested elections in recent memory.

The Constitutional Convention

Conceived on the battlefields of Bloody July, the child of the bipartisan August Reformation, the Constitutional Convention reached a successful conclusion in May with the completion and subsequent ratification of the Fourth Constitution, whose historic re-conception of the republic will influence politicians and elections for years to come.

Governor D.F.W. Libertylover

Rising quickly from representative to President Pro Tempore of the Senate to Governor of the South, DFW has established himself as among the game's most formidable new players and a leading conservative strategist.

Interim President Harry S Truman

Presidents and former presidents are nominated automatically, so I threw my name in the mix, but writing a dramatic mini-biography seems a bit much. Quick recap: Presiding Officer of the Constitutional Convention, 29th and terminal Speaker of the Senate, unsuccessful candidate for president in the June 2016 election, Secretary of State, Interim President of Atlasia for a little over three weeks, and now Secretary of the Interior.

Vice President Kingpoleon

After a brief tenure as Acting Governor of the Old Northeast, Kingpoleon emerged as a leading member of two small parties situated around the Atlasian center: Civic Renewal and United Alternative. He lost a breathtakingly close election for Governor of the consolidated Northern Region in August, was appointed to the House of Representatives, and campaigned for vice president on a unity ticket with then-Senator Blair before stepping aside to facilitate the implementation of the Potomac Agreement.

President Leinad

After two successful terms as Governor of the Old South and a hard-fought campaign to unseat President Griffin in February, Leinad became the first president elected under the Fourth Constitution when he defeated yours truly in the June 2016 election. His term saw the successful negotiation of the Atlasian-British Common Market Agreement and the passage of legislation to secure equal rights for LGBTQ Atlasians and abolish the Selective Service.

Secretary of Federal Elections R. Pryor III

The embattled Secretary of Federal Elections withstood ill-gotten allegations of corruption and multiple court cases in his tireless effort to uphold national election law, and so became perhaps the most consequential SoFE in recent memory.

Senator A. Scott

After a long hiatus from public life, the former Northeast Governor returned to politics as his region's voice in the Senate, where he has battled for universal healthcare, abortion rights, and electoral reform; his efforts to revive the wiki as the first National Archivist promise to aid future generations of Atlasians long into the future.

Representative Siren

A self-described "voice for the voiceless," Siren worked alongside Federalists and Laborites alike to establish the new Southern Region as the first Speaker of the Chamber of Delegates before joining the House of Representatives, where she remains the only independent elected to the lower house.

Secretary of State Ted Bessell

Bessell's election as the 23rd Governor of the Pacific heralded a revival of interest in the historically inactive region; in the aftermath of the Fourth Constitution's successful ratification, he chaired efforts to draft the Constitution of the consolidated Region of Fremont, served as the Region's first governor, won election to the House of Representatives in October, and became the second Secretary of State to serve under the Fourth Constitution when he was nominated by President Blair and confirmed unanimously by the Senate.

Vice President North Carolina Yankee

Yankee was a leading member of the Reform Coalition that successfully pushed for the ratification of the Fourth Constitution; as chairman of the Federalist Party, he led the center-right to their first victory in a presidential election in nearly two years when the Leinad-Lumine ticket rolled into the White House in June 2016 and the election of the first-ever outright Federalist Congressional majority that same month. Nominated for president ahead of the October 2016 election, he twice tied with his progressive counterpart in a hotly contested campaign and is set to assume the presidency as part of the Potomac Agreement in the new year.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Truman

[Leinad]

It should probably be Truman, Blair, or (ahem) myself.

I'm fine if you don't give it to me, though, as I already won Time's 2006 Person of the Year award.

[Blair]

You'll get a bridge named after you if you vote for me

Please don't impeach me for satire...

[Kingpoleon]

Blair, Leinad, Truman, and the Constitutional Convention. I voted for myself, too, once I realized no one else probably would. I've only been here a year, and already I'm leading the third largest party. Give me another year and you may get the privilege of talking to your Supreme Dictator once a year.

In all seriousness, I don't deserve it this year, though, after my failure of a confirmation hearing. I appreciate the fancy description of me you wrote up, though.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I N T E R I M   P R E S I D E N T Harry S Truman	P R E S I D E N T Leinad

Atlasians of the Year

Given that the poll is essentially even, and considering that it would be bizzarre indeed to relegate the accomplishments of President Leinad based on a majority of a single vote, we of the Mideast Record-Courier have instead chosen to split the difference and call it a tie, an outcome we consider particularly appropriate given how closely the two recipients have worked together over the past year.

President Blair
Runner-Up

The Constitutional Convention
Runner-Up

[Poirot]

It is 12 votes followed by 11. It's not a tie. There is a winner. Maybe you are too humble to declare yourself Atlasian of the year.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

It is 12 votes followed by 11. It's not a tie. There is a winner. Maybe you are too humble to declare yourself Atlasian of the year.

It's very, very close; I don't think one vote is a significant enough margin to declare 'this person was the single most significant Atlasian of 2016.' The award is meant to represent a clear consensus, and when the margin is 12-11, it's difficult to argue that a consensus actually exists. It's not as if splitting the award hurts anybody, and doing so more accurately represents the opinion of the voters, who clearly thought that both Leinad and I made important contributions to the game this year. Perhaps I would feel differently if it were someone other than I who had received those 12 votes, but I don't think so.

[NeverAgain]

Considering the tie, I think the only sensible option is that the people were really meaning NeverAgain is the Atlasian of the Year. I will now accept my accolades.

But seriously you both deserve it. Congratz!