background deletion

I scanned through several sections of the memories, and I couldn't find what I was looking for so I'll ask. What is the best way to remove a background/cut a person/object out of an image? I have PSP9 and generally use the background eraser and then the regular eraser on a soft setting. This works, but takes a long time. I was hoping there was a better/faster way.

Oh, and my preference is for PSP, but I have access to PS CS if absolutely necessary. Thanks!