Persons of the Decade.

[Orser67]

00's:  Wilhelm II  (navy buildup in this decade precipitated war in the next)
10's:  Lenin  (changed a country's and a continent's future)
20's:  Yat-Sen  (may have prevented fragmentation of China, laid groundwork for Communists) 
30's:  Hitler  (no explanation needed)
40's:  FDR  (helped get America into the war, and managed the war effort well)
50's:  Nehru  (led India into becoming a unified non-aligned, democratic socialist country)
60's:  Mao  (Set China back for years with failed programs, split with USSR)
70's:  Nixon (Vietnam and a lot of little things, plus weak competitors)
80's:  Gorbachev  (no story bigger than the attempted reform and demise of the USSR on his watch)
90's:  Mandela  (showed how a revolution should be done, gave freedom to millions)
00's:  Bush  (I can't wait for the backlash against his policies)