Giffords named one of 100 most influential by Time

Posted Apr 21, 2011

Dylan Smith
TucsonSentinel.com

Courtesy Time magazineGiffords, drawn by Peter James Field for Time.
Courtesy Time magazine

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

Giffords, still recovering from a gunshot wound to the head suffered in what authorities call an assassination attempt, made the list despite not having made a public appearance since January 8.

"Before that morning, Gabrielle Giffords may not have been a household name," President Barack Obama wrote in a profile of the congresswoman in this week's issue of the news magazine.

"But the reason she has long been admired by people of all political stripes is that she embodies the best of what public service should be: hard work and fair play, hope and resilience, a willingness to listen and a determination to do your best in a busy world," he wrote.

Giffords and the constituents who were at the site of the shooting "came to do the daily work of democracy" as they gathered "to share their hopes and ask questions of their elected representative," Obama wrote, calling it a "quintessentially American scene."

Giffords is fighting a hard battle in her recovery, Obama wrote.

"And she's got the prayers of a nation rooting for her, a model of civility and courage and unity — a needed voice that cannot return soon enough."

Giffords' staff said on Twitter that they were "(h)onored by the President’s kind words & @Time’s tribute to our boss."

The annual listing features a record 33 women this year.

Among those also making the list: Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Google exec and Egyptian revolutionary Wael Ghonim, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Wikileaks honcho Julian Assange, Arianna Huffington, actor Colin Firth, Oprah Winfrey, singer Patti Smith and pop star Justin Bieber.