By CNN Political Unit
(CNN) — Sarah Palin, who’s been listed twice as one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People,” is taking issue with the publication’s decision to name President Barack Obama as its “Person of the Year.”
Poking fun at herself, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee said the magazine lacks a certain degree of relevancy.
“Time magazine, I think there’s some irrelevancy there to tell you the truth. I mean consider their list of the most influential people in the country and in the world. Some who have made that list? Yours truly. That oughta tell ya something right there regarding the credence we should give Time magazine and their list of people,” she said Wednesday on Fox News.
Managing editor Richard Stengel wrote Obama deserved the recognition because he “forged a new majority, turned weakness into opportunity and sought, amid great adversity, to create a more perfect union.”
But Palin, who along with 2008 GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, lost to the Democratic presidential ticket four years ago, said “those are some silly words chosen to describe Barack Obama.”
“When I first heard that, the first thing that popped in my mind was: What the heck has he done? Really, what has he done, except drive us over a fiscal cliff,” she said. “What has he done to unify and make our nation a more perfect union? For the life of me, I don’t know.”
The former Alaska governor was chosen as one of the magazine’s most influential people in 2009 and held a top spot on the same list in 2010. She was also considered one of four runners-up for “Person of the Year” in 2008, when Obama first received the title, and as someone “who mattered” in 2010.
She argued that “the path towards a perfect union is our Constitution” but said Obama “sees it as a charger of negatives” that needs serious changes.
Palin stoked speculation for much of 2011 as she considered a presidential bid but ultimately decided to stay out of the running. She largely stayed out of the presidential race, instead choosing to campaign for conservative Senate candidates in GOP primary battles.
– CNN’s Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
