First there were George W. Bush and Karl Rove. In picking them as the first two Dallas Morning News Texans of the Year, the editorial board revealed itself as a bunch of testosterone-charged, politics-obsessed, right-wing ideologues who worship at the altar of military training camps and gun shows.

(Never mind that in 2003, President Bush had just led the nation to war with Iraq and our deliberations occurred weeks after Saddam Hussein's capture. "Like it or not," we wrote then, "Mr. Bush is dramatically reshaping the world, the nation and ... Texas.")

(Or that a year later, Karl Rove masterminded Bush's re-election, a feat that had seemed in doubt and catapulted Bush into the history books as the first president in nearly 70 years to be re-elected while gaining seats in both the House and Senate.)

Then for 2005, we named the city of Houston as Texan of the Year. Fresh from the tragedy of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we cited Houston "for resilience, resourcefulness and good old Texas neighborliness on a scale that did the whole state proud."

This proved that we were self-loathing thumb-suckers who failed to appreciate Dallas' superiority in all measures of significance, especially as compared to the Bayou City, our (step) sister city to the south.

(Never mind that we also commended scores of other communities – including many in North Texas – that provided enormous aid and comfort to thousands of evacuees. But as we noted then, "the demands on Houston, by dint of simple geography, were of stunningly higher magnitude.")

Our 2006 pick of Roy Velez of Lubbock, who lost one son in Iraq and the other in Afghanistan – an unspeakable loss, but one which we said "made him a fortress for others" – gave readers little to work with to figure out our motives or inclinations.

That was the lull before the storm.

Our 2007 designation of the Illegal Immigrant as having the most impact in Texas unleashed a tsunami of Texan of the Year blowback, proving beyond reasonable doubt – of course! – that we were a bunch of quiche-loving left-wing loonies advocating the invasion of foreigners bent on destroying America as we know it.

(Never mind that we were describing the person, or in this case, the group of people, who roiled this state – and the country – both economically and emotionally more than anything else we could think of that year. We sought to describe a social phenomenon unmatched in recent memory and to draw attention to the urgent need for change.)

But just in case you weren't convinced of our liberal pantywaist bona fides, we pretty much sealed the deal last year by singling out Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins. We recognized him for having the guts to walk the precarious political tightrope between "hug a thug" and "convict at all costs" crime-fighting philosophies, a tough balancing act in a county that leads the United States in DNA exonerations.

Yipes! Where do we go from here? What else could we possibly reveal about ourselves with this year's selection of The Dallas Morning News 2009 Texan of the Year?

Frankly, I haven't a clue.

If your head is spinning like Linda Blair's in the old Exorcist movie, I can relate. Most members of the editorial board have been here since the Rove pick. How can we be simultaneously redneck right-wingers and looney leftists?

The answer is that we're really not either of those things. Very few of us attend gun shows or military training camps – at least not on a regular basis – and a third of us fall short on the testosterone scale.

We probably have the usual amount of self-loathing and thumb sucking, but we allow a fair number of North Texas natives or near-natives to run in our midst, so I'm confident the Dallas-superiority quotient is high enough.

We do have several quiche lovers on our board and – depending on the day of the week – we may even have a loon or two among us. (Just get Rodger Jones talking about "daydreaming" or Rod Dreher about "avian flu" and you'll see what I mean.) But we've really no more pantywaist lefties than hardcore right-wingers. Reading such motives into our picks doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

Here's what does hold up: Our picks, for better or worse, reflect the times. And times change, sometimes dramatically.

The driving international forces of 2003 and 2004 feel like ancient history compared with the dominance of economic issues of 2008 and 2009.

So let's play a little game. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Exhale.

Now, set aside politics, ideology and presumed motive. ... Think about calendar 2009. Think about Texans. Think about power, influence, events. And tell us this:

What Texan (or Texans) has had uncommon impact? Who exemplifies Texas traits of trailblazing, independence and staring down adversity? Who has affected or influenced lives the most?

Keep those eyes closed. Deep breath. Exhale.

Remember that this isn't a lifetime achievement award; it's to recognize actions or achievements in the past year. And we bestow it for "better or worse," meaning both heroes and villains are eligible for recognition.

That's what we're looking for in determining The Dallas Morning News 2009 Texan of the Year.

So give us your ideas – in a letter, on our blog, in an e-mail or on the phone. We'll start the countdown of finalists on the editorial pages on Dec. 15 and unveil the 2009 designee on the cover of our Sunday Points commentary section on Dec. 27.

You can open your eyes now.

Keven Ann Willey is editorial page editor of The Dallas Morning News. Her e-mail address is kwilley@dallasnews.com.