Thomas L. Friedman
AGE: 53
OCCUPATION: New York Times columnist, author
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 0
PRO: People seem to pay attention to this three-time Pulitzer Prize-winner's neoliberal views, and his arguments in support of globalization, sane energy policy and hard-nosed moderation in dealing with the Middle East.
CON: His sometimes avuncular tone can come across as condescending, and he tends to gloss over many of the adverse consequences of globalization. He was also spectacularly wrong on Iraq, having pushed the idea that the invasion and establishment of a secular democracy there would transform the troubled Middle East.