So Time has called it for 2012. You didn’t have a say in that one. But the good news is you can help select Crikey’s person of the year — voting closes at 3pm AEST tomorrow, and you’ll read the results of the poll on Monday.

We don’t want to give the game away, but suffice to say Obama is being given a run for his money from Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban for her campaign for girls’ education (Yousafzai was a runner-up in Time). Peter Fox, the NSW police whistleblower who lobbied for a royal commission into child s-x abuse, is polling strongly and within striking distance.

As for Crikey’s arsehat of the year — we have a clear frontrunner at this stage. So is it the brutal Syrian leader, the loud-mouth radio host or the drug-cheat cycling great brought back to earth with a thump? Cast your vote — and find out if you’re with the Crikey masses on this one.