A LANDSLIDE FOR ATATURK?

By BRUCE HALLETT/PRESIDENT

It seemed like a good idea at the time. In preparation for our forthcoming series of special issues in which we will name the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, we decided it might be fun to create a poll on our Internet site www.time.com and invite visitors to register their nominations. Over the next two years, you can suggest candidates in five categories (Warriors & Statesmen, Entertainers & Artists, Builders & Titans, Scientists & Healers, and Heroes & Adventurers). The sixth and final issue in this series, which will be launched next April and will be accompanied by documentaries on CBS, will name the Person of the Century.

Little did we know how popular our poll would become. It got off to a fast start last June, drawing some predictable nominees: Winston Churchill for Statesmen, Albert Einstein for Scientists. Since we didn't redirect the votes into appropriate categories, the proposals were not always logical; for a while, Madonna led F.D.R. for Warriors & Statesmen. That's the Internet for you.

Then beginning in late August, a new contender emerged: Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. A maelstrom of electronic votes, augmented by hundreds of thousands of postcards, letters and faxes, urged us to name the founder of the Republic of Turkey as TIME's Person of the Century. As of last week, Ataturk's tally was closing in on 1.7 million, out of a total of 5 million votes cast. And before we consolidated his votes into the two most appropriate slots (Statesmen and Heroes), he was leading the field in all five categories.

Whether it is true, as a flurry of news accounts have suggested, that Ataturk's astonishing support is the result of a national campaign backed by the government in Ankara, we cannot say. But whoever is behind this should know that while our final selection will not be bound by these poll results, we are keenly aware of Ataturk's role in Turkish history. We will consider him carefully.

Certainly no one at TIME objects to the passionate display of support for Ataturk. In fact, we wonder why Britons aren't doing more to help Winston Churchill, who trails Ataturk by more than half a million votes. And how about Mao, China?

One favor, please: if you can, cast your vote on TIME's Website. While we're always happy to hear from you in any form, we do encourage you to make your choices online.