Political Influence in the United States

Ever wonder who holds all the political clout in the U.S.?  Well, wonder no more.  The London Telegraph released its 2010 list of the 100 most influential U.S. conservatives and liberals this month.  They had done this once before, back in 2007.  Some of the changes are fascinating.  For instance - George W. Bush is listed as a more influential conservative now than he was when he was president.  His vice president is now #1 after leaving power.  Interesting, eh?

With that in mind, since I'm a conservative, I'll list 5 surprises in the conservative list (other than what are listed above):

1. David Petraeus at #8.  Really?  Does anyone actually know his politics?  Sure, he supported Bush's surge plan in Iraq: but he obviously is currently in support of Obama's pull-out policy in Iraq, (which conservatives have lambasted) since Obama still has Petraeus at the head of all military operations in the middle-east.  How can the Telegraph even label him a conservative?  I'm pretty sure no one really knows what he is...which is exactly how it should be with a military commander.

2. Joe Lieberman at #29.  Come on.  Lieberman?  A conservative?  Given a 100% rating by NARAL on abortion rights.  Opposed Bush tax cuts "for the rich".  Supports Affirmative Action.  Supports same-sex marriage.  No on drilling in ANWR, yes on Kyoto (if China would have signed on), yes on UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.  0% rating on family record from Christian Coalition.  No on preemptive war.  Ran as AL GORE's running-mate for president on the Democratic ticket in 2000!  Oh...and did I mention that he's still in the Democratic Caucus in the senate?  Sorry...his record on a few security issues and a couple gun issues is decidedly NOT enough to qualify him as a conservative.

3. Ron Paul at #41.  First of all, libertarianism is not the same as conservatism - at root they are actually philosophically opposed...it just so happens that occasionally their separate philosophies land them in the same place on issues.  But if everyone and their dog wants to define libertarianism as a form of conservatism, so be it.  The bottom line is that Paul had an odd following of a few fringe conservatives, a lot of libertarians, and a few fringe liberals (he had Nader-esque support in 2008).  At best, 10% of conservatives are influenced by him and virtually 100% of the rest think he's a crackpot.  Certainly not in the top 50, and DEFINITELY not above luminaries like Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas, George Will, Bill Kristol, etc.

4. Jeb Bush at #76.  Ok, first of all - how did he go UP from the 2007 list, where he was #86?  The only argument given for him is that he would have been a good candidate in '08 had his name not been "Bush".  Umm...soo...3 years ago he was influential enough to be #86, he's no longer in office and has no real public voice anymore, but somehow goes up?  What?

5. Bill O'Reilly at #85.  This seemed remarkably low to me.  "The O'Reilly Factor" finished #1 in the ratings race for cable news shows this year and has (I believe) for a couple years running.  So how do Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Joe Scarborough, Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, and Mike Huckabee all finish above him in the list?  Strange...

I'd be interested to hear what all your takes on the list are.  Any liberals that read this - tell me what you think of the liberal list.  Conservatives - am I wrong?  Do you have surprises other than those listed?