The Atlantic names Lena Dunham, Mike Bloomberg 'Brave Thinkers' of 2012

It looks as though Lena Dunham is cleaning up this year. The 26-year-old actress, who starred in that creepy campaign video equating voting for Obama to losing one’s virginity, was named one of Glamour magazine’s “Women of the Year” last week, and today The Atlantic named her one of the year’s “Brave Thinkers.”

The Atlantic praised Dunham for the challenging roles she writes for herself on the HBO comedy “Girls”: “They involve taking the wrong drugs and collapsing in her parents’ hotel room, acting like an underage street hooker to turn her boyfriend on, and propositioning her boss.” No wonder she’s one of the women of the year.

Also honored: New York City Michael Bloomberg, whose soda ban impressed the editors as “brave thinking.”