I wasn’t picked. You weren’t picked (unless you happen to be Barack Obama, in which case, congratulations! And welcome to the site!). But that’s OK, because we weren’t even close. Sure, we may have been in the running for Most Awesome Person of the Year, or Funniest Person of the year, but Time was never on our radars.

But it was for these 4 people who were thisclose to getting the infamous Time cover. And then they didnt. What happened? Why weren’t they chosen?

We have a pretty good idea:

Henry Paulson: As Secretary of the Treasury, this guy has a lot on his plate. Mostly the collapse of the entire economy, the bailout that hasn’t done much, and other major American industries going down the tubes. It may not be his fault, but he is the face people see when they watch their investments dwindle to nothing.

Nicolas Sarkozy: We heard about the President of France a lot over the summer, beginning with the Georgia conflict. People seem to love him and his abilities as a leader, and see him doing some really great things in the future. That all seems pretty cover-of-Time-worthy, but could he really rival the first Black president? I don’t think so.

Sarah Palin: Surprise of the year? Yes. Winker of the year? Totally. Beehive of the year? You betcha! But person of the year? Puhlease. The fascination surrounding this woman is in how she made it so far, not in anything she has done or can do. She didn’t deserve to be VP of this country and she definitely does not deserve Person of the Year.

Zhang Yimou: He put together a pretty spectacular show for the Opening Ceremonies of this year’s Beijing Olympics. He also has a pretty spectacular life story. If we didn’t love and respect Barack Obama so much, we’d say Yimou had been robbed of the title.