Person Of The Year 2011 In Brief

‘We got him.’ –President Obama after the U.S. mission that killed Osama bin Laden / ‘They had to know.’ –Bernie Madoff, describing victims of his Ponzi scheme / ‘I am on a drug. It’s called Charlie Sheen. It’s not available.’ –actor Charlie Sheen / ‘The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal- consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short.’ –Standard & Poor’s / ‘My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress.’ –investor Warren Buffett / ‘This is my country … I will die on its soil.’ –former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak / ‘They love me … They will die to protect me, my people.’ –Muammar Gaddafi / ‘I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times.’ –Japanese Emperor Akihito / ‘As President, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action.’ –Obama, speaking about intervening in Libya / ‘We could find that the Arab Spring turns into an Iranian Winter.’ –Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu / ‘They have accepted they will all probably die from radiation sickness in the short term.’ –the mother of a worker at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant

The Year in Quotes

‘It’s not going to get easier. It’s going to get harder. So we might as well do it now. Pull off the Band-Aid. Eat our peas.’ –Obama, urging Congress to reach a long-term compromise during the summer’s fight over deficit reduction and raising the debt ceiling / ‘Europe is in perhaps the toughest hour since World War II. ‘ –Angela Merkel, as European countries rallied to try to save the euro / ‘Quite simply, we lost our way.’ –the now defunct British tabloid News of the World / ‘Whether you come back by the page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.’ –Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling / ‘I think the Republican Party would be well advised to get the heck out of people’s bedrooms.’ –former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani / ‘Syria should think wisely before it is too late … and enact reforms that are not merely promises.’ –King Abdullah of Jordan / ‘If you believe, unbelievable things can sometimes be possible.’ –Tim Tebow, controversial Denver Broncos quarterback, who won seven of his first eight starts this season / ‘With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.’ –Penn State coach Joe Paterno / ‘Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.’ –the last words of Steve Jobs

Sources: ABC (2); AFP; al-Jazeera English (2); BBC; CBS (2); CNN; ESPN (2); Fox News; News of the World; New York Times (3); Reuters (2); S&P; White House