A poster of US President-elect Barack Obama by former street artist Shephard Fairley makes the cover of the December 29 issue of Time magazine, which picked him as the 'Person of the Year' for 2008. The early poster of Senator Obama became a populist image of his campaign.

Time magazine Wednesday named US President-elect Barack Obama its 2008 "Person of the Year."

"For having the confidence to sketch¹ an ambitious future in a gloomy hour, and for showing the competence² that makes Americans hopeful he might pull it off, the president-elect is TIME's Person of the Year," the newsweekly said.

It said US Treasury³ Secretary Henry Paulson was first runner-up followed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin and China's Zhang Yimou, who directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Time said its "Person of the Year" selection was the "person or persons who most affected⁴ the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied⁵ what was important about the year."

The magazine last year selected Russian leader Vladimir Putin as its 2007 "Person of the Year."

In an interview with Time, Obama said that while he may have won a "decisive victory" over Republican John McCain in the November presidential election, "I don't think that Americans want hubris⁶ from their next president."

"I do think we received a strong mandate⁷ for change," he added in the interview.

Asked about the state of the economy, Obama said "I think we should anticipate that 2009 is going to be a tough year.

"And if we make some good choices, I'm confident that we can limit some of the damage in 2009 and that in 2010 we can start seeing an upward trajectory⁸ on the economy. "But this is a difficult hole that we've dug ourselves into."

On his foreign policy priorities, Obama said: "there's no doubt that managing the transition in Iraq is going to be a top priority. Managing a more effective strategy in Afghanistan will be a top priority.

Obama, who is to be sworn in on January 20 as the 44th president of the United States, said long-term priorities include nuclear proliferation and climate change.

"I think dealing⁹ with development and poverty around the world is going to be a critical component¹⁰ of our foreign policy," he added. "It's good for our security and not just charity."

美国总统当选人巴拉克•奥巴马于本周三被《时代》杂志评选为2008年度人物。

《时代》周刊称：“在眼下的经济困难时期，奥巴马表现出了建设美好未来的信心，并展示出了让人信服的实现这一目标的能力，所以当选年度人物当之无愧。”

同时获得提名的人物包括，人气仅次奥巴马的美国财政部长亨利•保尔森，以及法国总统萨科奇、共和党副总统候选人莎拉•佩林和成功执导今年北京奥运会开闭幕式的中国导演张艺谋。

《时代》称，“年度人物”评选的是当年“极大影响媒体和人们生活（无论好坏），以及能体现年度大事的个人或团体”。

去年《时代》的年度人物是时任俄罗斯总统的普京。

奥巴马在接受《时代》采访时说，尽管他在上月的总统大选中可能以“绝对优势”战胜了共和党候选人麦凯恩，赢得胜利，但他称“美国人不希望看到一个狂妄自大的下任总统”。

他说：“我真切地认为，我们必须改变。”

在被问及目前的经济状况时，奥巴马回答说：“我认为2009年将是非常艰难的一年。”

“如果我们做出一些正确的选择，我相信明年能少一些损失，到2010年，经济会有新起色。但这是一个十分艰巨的任务。”

在谈及外交政策的重点时，奥巴马说：“毫无疑问，调整对伊政策将首当其冲，此外调整在阿富汗的战略也是外交政策的一个重点。”

他说，从长远来看，核扩散和气候变化问题也不容忽视。奥巴马将于明年1月20日就任美国第44任总统。

“我认为，解决全球的发展和贫困问题将成为美国外交政策中十分重要的一部分。这不仅有利于慈善，而且关乎我们的国家安全。”