Stoney Mason
Banned
Conservatives
1. RUDY GIULIANI
Republican presidential candidate
RUDY GIULIANI
The clear Republican front runner and perhaps the only party nominee who could beat Hillary Clinton in 2008, Giuliani makes the top of our list despite his unorthodox brand of conservatism that is anathema to many on the Christian Right. Before 9/11, a thrice-married New Yorker in favour of abortion, gun and gay rights would have struggled to survive the early stages of a Republican nomination battle despite his tax cutting and crime fighting credentials. But even many Christian conservatives who disagree with the former New York mayor on social issues now view national security as their number one priority.
Giuliani's performance after 9/11 made him an international figure and helped make a nation feel good about itself just after its darkest hour. But 9/11 is the centrepiece of the Giuliani campaign in more than just that respect - he is determined to confront America's enemies, including Iran, and has taken on an array of hawkish advisers. Meetings with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown while in London to receive an award from Margaret Thatcher underlined his global stature. All the stars are in alignment for a Democratic victory in 2008 but Giuliani has the potential to buck the historical trends and signal a dramatic shift in American conservatism by securing an unlikely win.
2.GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS
Commander of coalition forces in Iraq
GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS
We see this highly respected scholar-warrior, educated at West Point and Princeton, as a potential future president he would be the first general to reach the White House since Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. In the meantime, however, the prospect of American victory or defeat in Iraq rests in his hands. Perhaps no figure in American public life was cited so frequently in Washington in the run-up to his September report on the progress of the "surge" when his integrity was attacked by the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org.
Although Petraeus, as a professional soldier, has properly stayed away from the political arena, he is a close friend of Bill Frist, the former Republican senator and surgeon who once saved the general's life when he was shot in the chest during a training accident. But we judge that Petraeus's pronouncements on the war on terror, and the clear thrust of his impressive testimony on Capitol Hill last month, place him firmly in the Republican camp on the number one issue for conservatives the future of the war against Islamic extremism.
3. MATT DRUDGE
Internet journalist and talk radio host
MATT DRUDGE
When Matthew Nathan Drudge, 41, makes a move, the American news agenda and body politic shift with him. His Drudge Report website is the most influential news aggregator in the world. Such is the volume of traffic he generates, newspaper websites he links to regularly crash under the tsunami of extra hits. Drudge shot to prominence in 1998 when he broke the story of the Monica Lewinsky scandal as the mainstream media prevaricated.
Such is his current power that his biggest detractors Hillary Clinton and The New York Times are among those who seek to get out their information ahead of the news cycle by courting him. An intensely private man, Drudge, based in Los Angeles, is a former convenience store clerk and telemarketer whose father bought him a computer in 1994 because he was worried about his son's indolence. A populist, anti-abortion, anti-tax, libertarian-leaning conservative, Drudge has his finger on the pulse of Middle America.
4.NEWT GINGRICH
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives
NEWT GINGRICH
He lead the Republican Revolution of 1994, when the Grand Old Party swept into power on a platform of smaller government, welfare reform and lower taxes - ending 40 years of Democratic rule in the House of Representatives. A towering intellect, Gingrich is a one-man powerhouse of conservative ideas. A polarising figure who still bears the scars from his battles with Bill Clinton over impeachment, he recently ruled out a presidential bid in 2008.
Phenomenally well read, Gingrich is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institute and runs his own ideas greenhouse American Solutions. He has taken on Al Gore over climate change, John Murtha over the Iraq war, Hillary Clinton over health care and George W. Bush over immigration reform. A supremely confident media performer, few politicians excite the conservative base as much or are as hated by liberals as Gingrich.
5. RUSH LIMBAUGH
Talk radio host
RUSH LIMBAUGH
A national phenomenon, Limbaugh's influence is massive and has endured the test of time. His recent contretemps with Senator Harry Reid was indicative of Limbaugh's continued power he raised $2.1 million for military and police families by selling on eBay a letter from the Democrats attacking him. As far back as 1996 he won the ultimate conservative accolade by having Al Franken, a left-wing comedian, pen a volume about him entitled: Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot.
For three hours each day, Limbaugh ranges from waxing philosophical to sounding off about political issues of the day. His theatrical style belies an erudition and painstaking research that his detractors often underestimate. His show began in 1988 and still tops the listenership lists. Often accused of going OTT, he courts controversy and relishes a battle. Any conservative Republican would chew off his own arm to appear on the Limbaugh show.
6. DICK CHENEY
Vice President of the United States
DICK CHENEY
The former Wyoming congressman and Defence Secretary during the Gulf War is the most powerful vice president in American history. Freed from the burden of having to plot a future run for office, since 9/11 Cheney has dedicated himself to protecting America by offering unvarnished and sometimes unpalatable advice to George W. Bush about the steps he believes need to be taken. Deeply conservative and fiercely loyal to Mr Bush, he is supported by his wife Lynne who is herself a leading conservative who just missed inclusion on our list. Cheney is an enigmatic figure who keeps his own counsel when outside the Oval Office.
Unerringly hawkish, after 9/11 Cheney abandoned his 1991 qualms about US forces toppling Saddam Hussein, instead believing that Iraq, Iran, North Korea and Syria needed to be confronted and al-Qa'eda hunted down across the world. He recently laughed off his nickname of Darth Vader and has been content to insulate Mr Bush by soaking up Left-wing opprobrium. Cheney turned his office into a foreign policy powerhouse within the Bush administration, nurturing such figures as David Wurmsur, who recently stepped down as his Middle East adviser. If Bush does decide to take military action against Iran, then much of the credit and the blame will be laid at Mr Cheney's door.
7.ROBERT GATES
Defence Secretary
ROBERT GATES
A former CIA director who served for 26 years at the spy agency, George W. Bush's decision to replace the ebulliently hawkish, supremely self-assured Donald Rumsfeld with the cautious, understated Gates appeared to mark a decisive shift. Viewed as part of the realist school of foreign policy associated with George Bush Snr, Brent Scowcroft and James Baker, Gates had already advocated engagement with Iran and expressed private criticism of the conduct of the Iraq war.
Gates immediately introduced changes, firing senior officers involved in overseeing military facilities keeping wounded soldiers in squalid conditions, briefing reporters in sit-down sessions rather than confronting them and giving generals more leeway to argue their case. Quietly, Gates is arguing against military action in Iran, holding the balance of power with Condoleezza Rice against Dick Cheney. He is also advocating a steady drawdown of troops from Iraq.
8. JOHN ROBERTS
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
JOHN ROBERTS
George W. Bush will bequeath his successor a head of the Supreme Court who could be on the bench for the next 30 years, shaping the parameters of American life for the next generation and beyond. Roberts joined the court as chief justice in July 2005. He was originally nominated by the president as an associate justice to replace the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor, but was given the top job when William Rehnquist died. At 50, he was the third youngest man to lead the court.
Bush chose him as a reliable conservative and he has not disappointed so far. But the Christian Right's holy grail of overturning Roe versus Wade and making abortion illegal is not among his plans, although he backs limiting practices such as partial-birth abortion. On issues such as the future of Guantanamo, the death penalty, the limits of what constitutes torture, the reach of executive power and conducting the war on terror, the Roberts court will have far-reaching influence. Already the Supreme Court under Roberts has become more conservative.
9. JOHN MCCAIN
Senator for Arizona and presidential candidate
JOHN MCCAIN
The former US Navy pilot who spent more than five years as a PoW in Vietnam faces an uphill battle to win the Republican nomination after an outsider bid in 2000 that at one point looked likely to stop George W. Bush. A consistent advocate of more troops in Iraq, he is closely associated with the "surge" policy and has stuck doggedly to his guns even when his stance has appeared certain to cost him votes. Now 71, he would be the oldest ever US president when first elected.
An unpredictable maverick throughout his life, McCain has frequently bucked party orthodoxy on campaign finance reform, climate change and, in 2000, on the influence of the religious Right, whose leaders he branded "agents of intolerance". Was recently damaged by his backing for immigration reform, which his opponents labelled "amnesty" for illegals and has taken a strong stance against torture. The Arizona senator probably won't be president though as a Giuliani ally he could be Pentagon chief. His contribution to his party and conservatism will be lasting.
10. MITT ROMNEY
Presidential candidate
MITT ROMNEY
The former Massachusetts governor is positioning himself as the conservative candidate in the race for the Republican nomination. An accomplished businessman and self-made multi-millionaire, he ran the consulting firm Bain & Company before rescuing the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City from a corruption scandal and cash crisis that threatened to sink it.
A Mormon, he has been reluctant to discuss details of his faith on the campaign trail and it remains to be scene whether evangelical Christians will back him. Perhaps more problematic is his recent shift from being a liberal Republican in the New England mould to being a purported rock-red conservative. He became an opponent of abortion rights at age 57 and only recently joined the National Rifle Association. Has sunk truckloads of his own cash into his well-organised and astute campaign that has him leading the polls in the crucial early-voting states. Despite lagging badly in the national polls, he is well placed to win the Republican nomination.
Liberals
1. BILL CLINTON
Former US president
BILL CLINTON
The 42nd president of the United States is now auditioning for the role of what his Scottish friends term First Laddie. Having been impeached for lying about his sexual misdeeds during the Lewinsky scandal, blamed by some for failing to kill Osama bin Laden and having left office in 2001 amid accusations of corruption in granting last-minute pardons, Clinton, 61, has made a remarkable comeback. Perhaps everything Hillary Clinton knows about politics, bar self-discipline, she has learnt from him.
A peerless tactician, huge intellect and natural communicator, Bill Clinton was one of the great retail politicians of the 20th Century. His burning desire to see his wife Hillary elected president has much to do with his own quest for vindication and a fresh platform to make his mark on history. Likely to become a roving ambassador in his wifes administration, he will push for the Middle East peace that slipped his grasp in 2000. Whether Americans truly want a Clinton restoration will become clearer next year. Either way, Bill Clintons influence on the American Left in 2008 will be without equal.
2. AL GORE
Environmental campaigner
AL GORE
The former vice-president under Bill Clinton - a hawkish New Democrat senator who won the popular vote in the 2000 presidential election only to lose the White House after a Supreme Court ruling - has undergone a remarkable transformation. His often lonely quest to spread apocalyptic warnings about climate change and the future of the planet has led to an unlikely celebrity, an Oscar for a documentary about him and, this month, the Nobel Peace Prize.
With the deadline for filing for the New Hampshire primary falling today, Gore, 59, appears to have decided not to run for the White House again a goal set for him by his senator father. While he is unlikely to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2008, his global political influence could potentially exceed even that of a US president. Barack Obama has already said Gore would have a major role in his administration. Mrs Clinton is pushing hard for his endorsement. For any Democrat who wins in 2008, Al Gore will be a figure to reckon with. If a Republican triumphs, Gore will be a likely opponent in 2012.
3. MARK PENN
Political strategist
MARK PENN
As the chief adviser to Hillary Clinton and global CEO of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, Penn has the world at his feet. Pollster and strategist for Bill Clintons 1996 re-election campaign, he has worked for the former First Lady since her Senate victory in 2000. He has also advised Bill Gatess Microsoft and Tony Blair. As a moderate Democrat, he holds the key to whether Mrs Clinton can win centrist voters in a general election or whether she will be the polarising figure some party leaders fear cannot win.
In his recent book Microtrends: the small forces behind tomorrows big changes, Penn, who identified Soccer Moms as a key voting bloc in 1996, explains how he identifies small patterns of behaviour that have a potentially decisive effect in elections. Married to Nancy Jacobson, a top fundraiser and adviser to Evan Bayh, their Georgetown mansion is perhaps Washingtons principal Democratic salon. If Mrs Clinton becomes president, only Penn will have contributed more than her husband to securing the outcome.
4. HILLARY CLINTON
Senator for New York
HILLARY CLINTON
Could this woman be the 44th US president? At the time of writing, she appears the odds-on favourite, although a shrill and defensive debate performance and an unwillingness to commit herself on the smallest of issues betray alarming chinks in her armour. A much-improved campaigner, she is mistress of her brief but is vulnerable when forced to move beyond the familiar and lacks the human touch that was Bill Clintons speciality.
Much will rest on the Iowa caucus. Victory there will leave her cruising to the Democratic nomination. Defeat could puncture her bubble of apparent invincibilility. If Mrs Clinton, 60, eventually loses to Barack Obama, her early move to the centre to appeal to independents with a hawkish stance on Iran could go down as the ultimate act of hubris. Having never wielded executive power, she would be one of the most inexperienced presidents ever to enter the White House. A battle-proven veteran of partisan warfare, whether her campaign mettle, rigorous intellect and formidable self-discipline will be enough to be an effective president will be severely tested if she is elected.
5. NANCY PELOSI
Speaker of the House of Representatives
NANCY PELOSI
An Italian-American from Baltimore born into a legendary Democratic family, Pelosi moved to the West Coast when she married a future multi-millionaire investor and soon began to carve out her own political career. The mother of five and grandmother of six, she became the first female Speaker and is third in line to the presidency after Vice President Dick Cheney.
An unabashed liberal and outspoken critic of the Iraq war, Pelosi, 67, failed to halt the surge of troops in Baghdad and Anbar province and has thus far shrunk from cutting off funding for the war. She received widespread criticism for a foray into diplomacy that took her to an audience with President Bashar Assad of Syria despite White House objections. Although she has reached the summit of her ambition, with the Democrats likely to enlarge their House majority in 2008, Pelosi will remain a major power player in Washington.
6. BARACK OBAMA
Senator for Illinois and presidential candidate
BARACK OBAMA
Burst on to the national scene with a powerful speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention and mounted an audacious bid for the presidency this year after just two years in the Senate. An inspirational figure with two beautifully-written volumes of biography under his belt, Obama still has a chance of becoming Americas first black president. At 46, the comparisons with John F. Kennedy are inevitable and valid he could become the hope of a generation.
A prodigious fundraiser attracting phenomenal crowds, he still lags behind Hillary Clinton in the polls and has yet to establish himself as a candidate who is seen as both electable and an agent of change. The son of a Kenyan father and a white Kansan mother, his exotic childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia followed by Harvard Law School was later balanced by working as a civil rights lawyer on the mean streets of Chicago. Questions remain over his experience and campaign toughness. Obamas moment of truth is fast approaching.
7. MICHAEL MOORE
Film maker
MICHAEL MOORE
Moores polemical 2002 documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 sealed his position as the Rights public enemy number one after previously attacking the gun lobby with his Bowling for Columbine. No figure is more likely to send a Right-winger into apoplexy than the university dropout from Flint, Michigan who supported Ralph Nader in the 2000 election.
His newest movie Sicko, released in June, attracted yet more controversy when he took sick Americans to be treated in Cuba but failed to mention human rights abuses on the Caribbean island. Afterwards, the Oscar winning producer and director stated that there is not religious persecution, there is artistic freedom" and that Cubans were able to "freely speak their minds. Against globalisation, corporations and war, he is unlikely to be any friend of a President Hillary Clinton.
8. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Governor of California
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Leaving him off the conservative list was a difficult decision but Schwarzeneggers defiance of Republican orthodoxy and move towards California liberalism leaves him better placed to influence the liberal sphere. Even unstinting Schwarzenegger support of a Rudy Giuliani general election campaign in California would be unlikely to deliver the state to Republicans. His marriage to Maria Shriver took him into the Kennedy clan.
As an Austrian-born immigrant, the former body builder and action movie star is barred from the presidency, though he has not ruled out a run for the US Senate in 2010 if Barbara Boxer retires. Schwarzeneggers actions to combat global warming have prompted an alliance with Tony Blair and is likely lead to his working more closely with Al Gore. For any Democrat entering the Oval Office, one of the first calls will be to Schwarzenegger.
9. OPRAH WINFREY
Television talk show host
OPRAH WINFREY
Very possibly the most influential woman in the world, Oprah her first name is her trademark has become a huge franchise, including not just her eponymous television show but a radio show, magazine, and book club. In her first real foray into politics, Oprah not only endorsed her friend Barack Obama but held a Hollywood fundraiser for 1,500 in his honour last month.
Quite how the Big O or the O Factor will play for Obama is unclear. She has lived what she calls the dream of Martin Luther King by rising from poverty in Mississippi to becoming a billionaire and the wealthiest black woman in the world. Her imprimatur has turned obscure authors into best-sellers. Oprah is viewed by millions as a personal friend as she introduces them to Obama in their living rooms, she might just make the difference.
10. EVAN BAYH
Senator for Indiana
EVAN BAYH
Clever, personable and centrist former governor of a red state, Bayhs 2008 presidential bid showed much promise before he dropped out early on calculating that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were just too strong for him. Now that he has endorsed Mrs Clinton, he is probably in pole position to be her vice-presidential running mate. Fiscally conservative, he implemented the biggest tax cut in Indianas history and is an advocate of responsible fatherhood.
Son of Senator Birch Bayh, who ran for the Democratic nomination in 1976 but lost to Jimmy Carter, the younger Bayh, 51, is a potential future White House occupant. Indeed, Bill Clinton once said: I hope and expect some day I'll be voting for Evan Bayh for President of the United States." If his party continues to move towards the Left, however, he could find himself out of step.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...n/nosplit/listintro.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox
1. RUDY GIULIANI
Republican presidential candidate
RUDY GIULIANI
The clear Republican front runner and perhaps the only party nominee who could beat Hillary Clinton in 2008, Giuliani makes the top of our list despite his unorthodox brand of conservatism that is anathema to many on the Christian Right. Before 9/11, a thrice-married New Yorker in favour of abortion, gun and gay rights would have struggled to survive the early stages of a Republican nomination battle despite his tax cutting and crime fighting credentials. But even many Christian conservatives who disagree with the former New York mayor on social issues now view national security as their number one priority.
Giuliani's performance after 9/11 made him an international figure and helped make a nation feel good about itself just after its darkest hour. But 9/11 is the centrepiece of the Giuliani campaign in more than just that respect - he is determined to confront America's enemies, including Iran, and has taken on an array of hawkish advisers. Meetings with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown while in London to receive an award from Margaret Thatcher underlined his global stature. All the stars are in alignment for a Democratic victory in 2008 but Giuliani has the potential to buck the historical trends and signal a dramatic shift in American conservatism by securing an unlikely win.
2.GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS
Commander of coalition forces in Iraq
GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS
We see this highly respected scholar-warrior, educated at West Point and Princeton, as a potential future president he would be the first general to reach the White House since Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. In the meantime, however, the prospect of American victory or defeat in Iraq rests in his hands. Perhaps no figure in American public life was cited so frequently in Washington in the run-up to his September report on the progress of the "surge" when his integrity was attacked by the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org.
Although Petraeus, as a professional soldier, has properly stayed away from the political arena, he is a close friend of Bill Frist, the former Republican senator and surgeon who once saved the general's life when he was shot in the chest during a training accident. But we judge that Petraeus's pronouncements on the war on terror, and the clear thrust of his impressive testimony on Capitol Hill last month, place him firmly in the Republican camp on the number one issue for conservatives the future of the war against Islamic extremism.
3. MATT DRUDGE
Internet journalist and talk radio host
MATT DRUDGE
When Matthew Nathan Drudge, 41, makes a move, the American news agenda and body politic shift with him. His Drudge Report website is the most influential news aggregator in the world. Such is the volume of traffic he generates, newspaper websites he links to regularly crash under the tsunami of extra hits. Drudge shot to prominence in 1998 when he broke the story of the Monica Lewinsky scandal as the mainstream media prevaricated.
Such is his current power that his biggest detractors Hillary Clinton and The New York Times are among those who seek to get out their information ahead of the news cycle by courting him. An intensely private man, Drudge, based in Los Angeles, is a former convenience store clerk and telemarketer whose father bought him a computer in 1994 because he was worried about his son's indolence. A populist, anti-abortion, anti-tax, libertarian-leaning conservative, Drudge has his finger on the pulse of Middle America.
4.NEWT GINGRICH
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives
NEWT GINGRICH
He lead the Republican Revolution of 1994, when the Grand Old Party swept into power on a platform of smaller government, welfare reform and lower taxes - ending 40 years of Democratic rule in the House of Representatives. A towering intellect, Gingrich is a one-man powerhouse of conservative ideas. A polarising figure who still bears the scars from his battles with Bill Clinton over impeachment, he recently ruled out a presidential bid in 2008.
Phenomenally well read, Gingrich is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institute and runs his own ideas greenhouse American Solutions. He has taken on Al Gore over climate change, John Murtha over the Iraq war, Hillary Clinton over health care and George W. Bush over immigration reform. A supremely confident media performer, few politicians excite the conservative base as much or are as hated by liberals as Gingrich.
5. RUSH LIMBAUGH
Talk radio host
RUSH LIMBAUGH
A national phenomenon, Limbaugh's influence is massive and has endured the test of time. His recent contretemps with Senator Harry Reid was indicative of Limbaugh's continued power he raised $2.1 million for military and police families by selling on eBay a letter from the Democrats attacking him. As far back as 1996 he won the ultimate conservative accolade by having Al Franken, a left-wing comedian, pen a volume about him entitled: Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot.
For three hours each day, Limbaugh ranges from waxing philosophical to sounding off about political issues of the day. His theatrical style belies an erudition and painstaking research that his detractors often underestimate. His show began in 1988 and still tops the listenership lists. Often accused of going OTT, he courts controversy and relishes a battle. Any conservative Republican would chew off his own arm to appear on the Limbaugh show.
6. DICK CHENEY
Vice President of the United States
DICK CHENEY
The former Wyoming congressman and Defence Secretary during the Gulf War is the most powerful vice president in American history. Freed from the burden of having to plot a future run for office, since 9/11 Cheney has dedicated himself to protecting America by offering unvarnished and sometimes unpalatable advice to George W. Bush about the steps he believes need to be taken. Deeply conservative and fiercely loyal to Mr Bush, he is supported by his wife Lynne who is herself a leading conservative who just missed inclusion on our list. Cheney is an enigmatic figure who keeps his own counsel when outside the Oval Office.
Unerringly hawkish, after 9/11 Cheney abandoned his 1991 qualms about US forces toppling Saddam Hussein, instead believing that Iraq, Iran, North Korea and Syria needed to be confronted and al-Qa'eda hunted down across the world. He recently laughed off his nickname of Darth Vader and has been content to insulate Mr Bush by soaking up Left-wing opprobrium. Cheney turned his office into a foreign policy powerhouse within the Bush administration, nurturing such figures as David Wurmsur, who recently stepped down as his Middle East adviser. If Bush does decide to take military action against Iran, then much of the credit and the blame will be laid at Mr Cheney's door.
7.ROBERT GATES
Defence Secretary
ROBERT GATES
A former CIA director who served for 26 years at the spy agency, George W. Bush's decision to replace the ebulliently hawkish, supremely self-assured Donald Rumsfeld with the cautious, understated Gates appeared to mark a decisive shift. Viewed as part of the realist school of foreign policy associated with George Bush Snr, Brent Scowcroft and James Baker, Gates had already advocated engagement with Iran and expressed private criticism of the conduct of the Iraq war.
Gates immediately introduced changes, firing senior officers involved in overseeing military facilities keeping wounded soldiers in squalid conditions, briefing reporters in sit-down sessions rather than confronting them and giving generals more leeway to argue their case. Quietly, Gates is arguing against military action in Iran, holding the balance of power with Condoleezza Rice against Dick Cheney. He is also advocating a steady drawdown of troops from Iraq.
8. JOHN ROBERTS
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
JOHN ROBERTS
George W. Bush will bequeath his successor a head of the Supreme Court who could be on the bench for the next 30 years, shaping the parameters of American life for the next generation and beyond. Roberts joined the court as chief justice in July 2005. He was originally nominated by the president as an associate justice to replace the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor, but was given the top job when William Rehnquist died. At 50, he was the third youngest man to lead the court.
Bush chose him as a reliable conservative and he has not disappointed so far. But the Christian Right's holy grail of overturning Roe versus Wade and making abortion illegal is not among his plans, although he backs limiting practices such as partial-birth abortion. On issues such as the future of Guantanamo, the death penalty, the limits of what constitutes torture, the reach of executive power and conducting the war on terror, the Roberts court will have far-reaching influence. Already the Supreme Court under Roberts has become more conservative.
9. JOHN MCCAIN
Senator for Arizona and presidential candidate
JOHN MCCAIN
The former US Navy pilot who spent more than five years as a PoW in Vietnam faces an uphill battle to win the Republican nomination after an outsider bid in 2000 that at one point looked likely to stop George W. Bush. A consistent advocate of more troops in Iraq, he is closely associated with the "surge" policy and has stuck doggedly to his guns even when his stance has appeared certain to cost him votes. Now 71, he would be the oldest ever US president when first elected.
An unpredictable maverick throughout his life, McCain has frequently bucked party orthodoxy on campaign finance reform, climate change and, in 2000, on the influence of the religious Right, whose leaders he branded "agents of intolerance". Was recently damaged by his backing for immigration reform, which his opponents labelled "amnesty" for illegals and has taken a strong stance against torture. The Arizona senator probably won't be president though as a Giuliani ally he could be Pentagon chief. His contribution to his party and conservatism will be lasting.
10. MITT ROMNEY
Presidential candidate
MITT ROMNEY
The former Massachusetts governor is positioning himself as the conservative candidate in the race for the Republican nomination. An accomplished businessman and self-made multi-millionaire, he ran the consulting firm Bain & Company before rescuing the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City from a corruption scandal and cash crisis that threatened to sink it.
A Mormon, he has been reluctant to discuss details of his faith on the campaign trail and it remains to be scene whether evangelical Christians will back him. Perhaps more problematic is his recent shift from being a liberal Republican in the New England mould to being a purported rock-red conservative. He became an opponent of abortion rights at age 57 and only recently joined the National Rifle Association. Has sunk truckloads of his own cash into his well-organised and astute campaign that has him leading the polls in the crucial early-voting states. Despite lagging badly in the national polls, he is well placed to win the Republican nomination.
Liberals
1. BILL CLINTON
Former US president
BILL CLINTON
The 42nd president of the United States is now auditioning for the role of what his Scottish friends term First Laddie. Having been impeached for lying about his sexual misdeeds during the Lewinsky scandal, blamed by some for failing to kill Osama bin Laden and having left office in 2001 amid accusations of corruption in granting last-minute pardons, Clinton, 61, has made a remarkable comeback. Perhaps everything Hillary Clinton knows about politics, bar self-discipline, she has learnt from him.
A peerless tactician, huge intellect and natural communicator, Bill Clinton was one of the great retail politicians of the 20th Century. His burning desire to see his wife Hillary elected president has much to do with his own quest for vindication and a fresh platform to make his mark on history. Likely to become a roving ambassador in his wifes administration, he will push for the Middle East peace that slipped his grasp in 2000. Whether Americans truly want a Clinton restoration will become clearer next year. Either way, Bill Clintons influence on the American Left in 2008 will be without equal.
2. AL GORE
Environmental campaigner
AL GORE
The former vice-president under Bill Clinton - a hawkish New Democrat senator who won the popular vote in the 2000 presidential election only to lose the White House after a Supreme Court ruling - has undergone a remarkable transformation. His often lonely quest to spread apocalyptic warnings about climate change and the future of the planet has led to an unlikely celebrity, an Oscar for a documentary about him and, this month, the Nobel Peace Prize.
With the deadline for filing for the New Hampshire primary falling today, Gore, 59, appears to have decided not to run for the White House again a goal set for him by his senator father. While he is unlikely to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2008, his global political influence could potentially exceed even that of a US president. Barack Obama has already said Gore would have a major role in his administration. Mrs Clinton is pushing hard for his endorsement. For any Democrat who wins in 2008, Al Gore will be a figure to reckon with. If a Republican triumphs, Gore will be a likely opponent in 2012.
3. MARK PENN
Political strategist
MARK PENN
As the chief adviser to Hillary Clinton and global CEO of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, Penn has the world at his feet. Pollster and strategist for Bill Clintons 1996 re-election campaign, he has worked for the former First Lady since her Senate victory in 2000. He has also advised Bill Gatess Microsoft and Tony Blair. As a moderate Democrat, he holds the key to whether Mrs Clinton can win centrist voters in a general election or whether she will be the polarising figure some party leaders fear cannot win.
In his recent book Microtrends: the small forces behind tomorrows big changes, Penn, who identified Soccer Moms as a key voting bloc in 1996, explains how he identifies small patterns of behaviour that have a potentially decisive effect in elections. Married to Nancy Jacobson, a top fundraiser and adviser to Evan Bayh, their Georgetown mansion is perhaps Washingtons principal Democratic salon. If Mrs Clinton becomes president, only Penn will have contributed more than her husband to securing the outcome.
4. HILLARY CLINTON
Senator for New York
HILLARY CLINTON
Could this woman be the 44th US president? At the time of writing, she appears the odds-on favourite, although a shrill and defensive debate performance and an unwillingness to commit herself on the smallest of issues betray alarming chinks in her armour. A much-improved campaigner, she is mistress of her brief but is vulnerable when forced to move beyond the familiar and lacks the human touch that was Bill Clintons speciality.
Much will rest on the Iowa caucus. Victory there will leave her cruising to the Democratic nomination. Defeat could puncture her bubble of apparent invincibilility. If Mrs Clinton, 60, eventually loses to Barack Obama, her early move to the centre to appeal to independents with a hawkish stance on Iran could go down as the ultimate act of hubris. Having never wielded executive power, she would be one of the most inexperienced presidents ever to enter the White House. A battle-proven veteran of partisan warfare, whether her campaign mettle, rigorous intellect and formidable self-discipline will be enough to be an effective president will be severely tested if she is elected.
5. NANCY PELOSI
Speaker of the House of Representatives
NANCY PELOSI
An Italian-American from Baltimore born into a legendary Democratic family, Pelosi moved to the West Coast when she married a future multi-millionaire investor and soon began to carve out her own political career. The mother of five and grandmother of six, she became the first female Speaker and is third in line to the presidency after Vice President Dick Cheney.
An unabashed liberal and outspoken critic of the Iraq war, Pelosi, 67, failed to halt the surge of troops in Baghdad and Anbar province and has thus far shrunk from cutting off funding for the war. She received widespread criticism for a foray into diplomacy that took her to an audience with President Bashar Assad of Syria despite White House objections. Although she has reached the summit of her ambition, with the Democrats likely to enlarge their House majority in 2008, Pelosi will remain a major power player in Washington.
6. BARACK OBAMA
Senator for Illinois and presidential candidate
BARACK OBAMA
Burst on to the national scene with a powerful speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention and mounted an audacious bid for the presidency this year after just two years in the Senate. An inspirational figure with two beautifully-written volumes of biography under his belt, Obama still has a chance of becoming Americas first black president. At 46, the comparisons with John F. Kennedy are inevitable and valid he could become the hope of a generation.
A prodigious fundraiser attracting phenomenal crowds, he still lags behind Hillary Clinton in the polls and has yet to establish himself as a candidate who is seen as both electable and an agent of change. The son of a Kenyan father and a white Kansan mother, his exotic childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia followed by Harvard Law School was later balanced by working as a civil rights lawyer on the mean streets of Chicago. Questions remain over his experience and campaign toughness. Obamas moment of truth is fast approaching.
7. MICHAEL MOORE
Film maker
MICHAEL MOORE
Moores polemical 2002 documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 sealed his position as the Rights public enemy number one after previously attacking the gun lobby with his Bowling for Columbine. No figure is more likely to send a Right-winger into apoplexy than the university dropout from Flint, Michigan who supported Ralph Nader in the 2000 election.
His newest movie Sicko, released in June, attracted yet more controversy when he took sick Americans to be treated in Cuba but failed to mention human rights abuses on the Caribbean island. Afterwards, the Oscar winning producer and director stated that there is not religious persecution, there is artistic freedom" and that Cubans were able to "freely speak their minds. Against globalisation, corporations and war, he is unlikely to be any friend of a President Hillary Clinton.
8. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Governor of California
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Leaving him off the conservative list was a difficult decision but Schwarzeneggers defiance of Republican orthodoxy and move towards California liberalism leaves him better placed to influence the liberal sphere. Even unstinting Schwarzenegger support of a Rudy Giuliani general election campaign in California would be unlikely to deliver the state to Republicans. His marriage to Maria Shriver took him into the Kennedy clan.
As an Austrian-born immigrant, the former body builder and action movie star is barred from the presidency, though he has not ruled out a run for the US Senate in 2010 if Barbara Boxer retires. Schwarzeneggers actions to combat global warming have prompted an alliance with Tony Blair and is likely lead to his working more closely with Al Gore. For any Democrat entering the Oval Office, one of the first calls will be to Schwarzenegger.
9. OPRAH WINFREY
Television talk show host
OPRAH WINFREY
Very possibly the most influential woman in the world, Oprah her first name is her trademark has become a huge franchise, including not just her eponymous television show but a radio show, magazine, and book club. In her first real foray into politics, Oprah not only endorsed her friend Barack Obama but held a Hollywood fundraiser for 1,500 in his honour last month.
Quite how the Big O or the O Factor will play for Obama is unclear. She has lived what she calls the dream of Martin Luther King by rising from poverty in Mississippi to becoming a billionaire and the wealthiest black woman in the world. Her imprimatur has turned obscure authors into best-sellers. Oprah is viewed by millions as a personal friend as she introduces them to Obama in their living rooms, she might just make the difference.
10. EVAN BAYH
Senator for Indiana
EVAN BAYH
Clever, personable and centrist former governor of a red state, Bayhs 2008 presidential bid showed much promise before he dropped out early on calculating that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were just too strong for him. Now that he has endorsed Mrs Clinton, he is probably in pole position to be her vice-presidential running mate. Fiscally conservative, he implemented the biggest tax cut in Indianas history and is an advocate of responsible fatherhood.
Son of Senator Birch Bayh, who ran for the Democratic nomination in 1976 but lost to Jimmy Carter, the younger Bayh, 51, is a potential future White House occupant. Indeed, Bill Clinton once said: I hope and expect some day I'll be voting for Evan Bayh for President of the United States." If his party continues to move towards the Left, however, he could find himself out of step.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...n/nosplit/listintro.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox
