>> It is clear that there is no one set of objective criteria that can be used to guage whether somebody gets the award or not. At some point - somebody's opinion is going to be THE determining factor. <<

This is correct. There are many factors that go into it, and they are generalized at http://mvp.support.microsoft.com. It is based on activity and influence, mainly contributions, compared to other members in the community. The VFP team discusses and reviews the list carefully.