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2008, TOP 100 FAT, RICH LIBERALS PART 1
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1435442/The-m
ost-influential-US-liberals-1-20.html
The most influential US liberals: 1-20
Last Updated: 12:54PM BST 24 Apr 2008
 BILL CLINTON
 AL GORE
 MARK PENN
 HILLARY CLINTON
 NANCY PELOSI
 BARACK OBAMA
 MICHAEL MOORE
 ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
 OPRAH WINFREY
 EVAN BAYH
 JOHN PODESTA
 MARKOS MOULITSAS ZUNIGA
 RAHM EMANUEL
 JIM WEBB
 GEORGE SOROS
 ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
 DONNA BRAZILE
 RICHARD HOLBROOKE
 ELIZABETH EDWARDS
 JOAN BLADES AND WES BOYD
As the US prepares for what is arguably the most open presidential election since 1928, the last time there was no incumbent president or vice-president on the ballot, the Daily Telegraph's Washington correspondents compile a list of the 100 most influential liberals and conservatives in America. Top conservatives: 1-20 | 21-40 | 41-60 | 61-80 | 81-100 | Your choices
Top liberals: 1-20 | 21-40 | 41-60 | 61-80 | 81-100 | Your choices
Toby Harnden: Crossing America | Perils of a Top 100 List
1. BILL CLINTON
Former US president
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 wife’s 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 Clinton’s influence on the American Left in 2008 will be without equal. 2. AL GORE
Environmental campaigner
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
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 Clinton’s 1996 re-election campaign, he has worked for the former First Lady since her Senate victory in 2000. He has also advised Bill Gates’s 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 tomorrow’s 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 Washington’s 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 and presidential candidate
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 BLEEP 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 Clinton’s 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 invincibility. 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
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
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 America’s 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. Obama’s moment of truth is fast approaching. 7. MICHAEL MOORE
Filmmaker
Moore’s polemical 2002 documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 sealed his position as the Right’s 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
Leaving him off the conservative list was a difficult decision but Schwarzenegger’s 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. Schwarzenegger’s actions to combat global warming have prompted an alliance with Tony Blair and are 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
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
Clever, personable and centrist former governor of a red state, Bayh’s 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 Indiana’s 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. 11. JOHN PODESTA
President, Centre for American Progress
Bill Clinton’s former chief of staff remains a pivotal player in the Democratic party. Head of the Centre for American Progress, funded by George Soros, A fanatical X-Files aficionado, he has not publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid but his think tank is packed with former Clinton staffers itching to return to the White House in a Hillary Clinton administration. Battle tested in the trenches of the Clinton-Gingrich wars of the 1990s and a vehement defender of Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal, he is likely to play a major role in any Democratic administration. Released a report detailing how Right-wingers dominate talk radio and calling for restrictive legislation – making him a target of derision from conservatives. If a Democrat wins, his think tank could enjoy the same influence that AEI and Heritage Foundation enjoyed in the Bush years. 12. MARKOS MOULITSAS ZUNIGA
Blogger
Founder and chief author of the website Daily Kos, which receives 20 million unique visitors per month. A former US Army artilleryman and consultant for Howard Dean, Moulitsas, 36, described his job as “the sweetest gig in the world”. It is also one of the most influential in US politics – contributors have included Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, John Kerry, Harry Reid and Cindy Sheehan. Co-author with Jerome Armstrong (Number 62) of Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics, a definitive examination of the internet’s role in transforming politics. This year’s Yearly Kos convention attracted all the main Democratic candidates and Hillary Clinton got a rough ride. Kos’s status as a liberal powerhouse pushing the Democrats towards the Left has been underlined by attacks on it from the likes of Fox’s Bill O’Reilly. 13. RAHM EMANUEL
Congressman
The mastermind behind the Democratic capture of the House of Representatives in 2006. Former top staffer in Bill Clinton’s White House, the Chicago congressman’s 2008 endorsement is so influential that Democrats talk of a “Rahm primary” between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Emanuel, 47, has close links to both candidates and appears to be leaning towards Mrs Clinton. A potty-mouthed former ballet dancer, the fourth ranking Democrat in the House, he is a future Speaker of the House at minimum. Emanuel is passionately pro-Israel and the son of an Irgun member. He was a civilian volunteer on an Israel Defence Forces base in Israel during the Gulf War. His brother Ari Emanuel is a Hollywood super-agent and major Democratic contributor who is backing Obama. 14. JIM WEBB
Senator for Virginia
Former US marine officer who was wounded and won a Silver Star and Navy Cross “for extreme heroism” in Vietnam who later became Navy Secretary under Ronald Reagan but resigned after refusing to agree to scale down the fleet. Was a Republican as late as 2000 but later became a vigorous critic of George W. Bush, describing the Iraq war as “the greatest strategic blunder in modern memory” in 2004. A novelist and former journalist, Webb eked out a shock victory in his 2006 Senate race after his opponent George Allen’s campaign imploded when he made insensitive racial remarks. Webb bucks many Democratic orthodoxies, most notably as a strong supporter of gun rights, but became a liberal hero after confronting Bush in the White House over Iraq, where his son is serving as a marine. A possible vice-presidential pick in 2008 but Webb, ever his own man, would not be a natural number two. 15. GEORGE SOROS
Billionaire businessman and donor
The Hungarian-born speculator who helped bring down communism in Poland and Czechoslovakia and the Bank of England – on Black Wednesday in 1992 - failed to do the same to George W. Bush in 2004 after stating the previous year that this was the "central focus of my life". This time around, he is determined that Hillary Clinton will win back the White House for Democrats. Soros, 78, has given millions from his $11 billion fortune to Democratic-supporting organisations, such as MoveOn.org, the Centre for American Progress and America Coming Together, leading the Republican party to claim he has “purchased the Democratic party”. Certain to be a source of controversy – and hard cash exceeding the $15.5 million he spent last time – once again in the 2008 campaign. 16. ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
Blogger
Huffington, 57, describes herself as a "former Right-winger who has evolved into a compassionate and progressive populist" and has been dubbed the “queen of the blogosphere” by CNN. Now a committed Democrat, her blog The Huffington Post has become a popular and influential source of news and commentary that does much to set the mainstream as well as liberal agenda. As Arianna Stassinopoulos she was elected president of the Cambridge Union in 1971. She received a large sum from her divorce from Republican congressman Michael Huffington, after he announced he was bisexual. A ubiquitous socialite and television face, she made a short-lived attempt to compete against Arnold Schwarzenegger for the governorship of California before finding her niche as a blogger. 17. DONNA BRAZILE
Democratic strategist
Brazile has worked on every presidential campaign from 1984 to 2000 but is thus far sitting this one out, perhaps waiting to see whether her 2000 boss Al Gore will make a dramatic late entry into the race. That year, she became the first black to run a major presidential campaign. Now a syndicated columnist, author and television pundit, her affable manner, keen intellect and penchant for plain speaking mean she is constantly in demand. That plain speaking got her into deep water in 1988 when she was forced to resign from the squeaky clean Dukakis campaign after telling journalists that George Bush Snr had to “fess up” to rumours of adultery because “the American people have every right to know if Barbara Bush will share that bed with him in the White House”. A native of New Orleans, she has been instrumental in pushing for more action to rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina. 18. RICHARD HOLBROOKE
Diplomat and investment banker
The man who brokered the Dayton Accord that ended the Bosnian war is now a top foreign policy advisor to Hillary Clinton, and is often tipped as a likely Secretary of State in a Democratic administration. He felt he should have that job when Bill Clinton gave it to Madeleine Albright and it would have been his had Al Gore won in 2000. More hawkish than most Democrats, he has a reputation as an tough, aggressive negotiator. Diplomatic experience is virtually unrivalled. A former US ambassador to Germany and the United Nations, he took part in the Paris negotiations on Vietnam in 1968-9 and is the only person to have been an Assistant Secretary of State for two regions, Asia and Europe. 19. ELIZABETH EDWARDS
The driving force behind her husband John’s presidential campaign, Mrs Edwards announced in March that the cancer she had first been diagnosed with the day the John Kerry-John Edwards ticket was defeated by George W. Bush had returned and was incurable. Instead of abandoning the campaign, the couple moved it into a higher gear. Although Edwards was slow to find his feet, his wife became a darling of the Left with her outspoken, unscripted comments. She described Barack Obama as “holier than thou”, said that “hatred” for Hillary Clinton would lead to her defeat by a Republican and even complained that "we can't make John black, we can't make him a woman". Belatedly, Mr Edwards is adopting the same directness in his populist campaign. He’s has only an outside shot but if anyone can bring down Hillary Clinton for him it’s Elizabeth. 20. JOAN BLADES AND WES BOYD
Founders and co-chairs of MoveOn.org Blades and Boyd, husband and wife, founded MoveOn.org, the liberal online pressure group, after selling their San Francisco software company for $14 million a decade ago. It all began with an online petition against the impeachment of Bill Clinton conceived at a Chinese restaurant. Since then, MoveOn has seen its influence grow to the point where it played a major role in propelling the Democrats to victory in the 2006 mid-terms with its strident anti-war message, cash and ever-expanding social network. An advertisement placed by MoveOn in the New York Times last month branding General David Petraeus, commander of US forces in Iraq, “General Betray Us”, was roundly condemned by Republicans and viewed as an own goal by many Democrats on Capitol Hill. Blades and Boyd shrugged off the criticism and can be expected to grab headlines again in next year’s general election. They continue to support Democratic political candidates with tens of millions of dollars in advertising and thousands of hours of telephone canvassing and knocking on doors. Blades also blogs at the Huffington Post.
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The most influential US liberals: 21-40
 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1435443/The-
most-influential-US-liberals-21-40.html
Last Updated: 9:57AM BST 24 Apr 2008
WARREN BUFFETT
 MARK WARNER
 COLIN POWELL
 JOHN EDWARDS
 MICHAEL BLOOMBERG
 HENRY WAXMAN
 BILL RICHARDSON
 CHUCK SCHUMER
 VERNON JORDAN
 JOE BIDEN
 BARNEY FRANK
 ROBERT BYRD
 HARRY REID
 HAROLD ICKES
 GENE SPERLING
 MAUREEN DOWD
 JOHN KERRY
 CHRIS MATTHEWS
 JOE TRIPPI
 BETH DOZORETZ
As the US prepares for what is arguably the most open presidential election since 1928, the last time there was no incumbent president or vice-president on the ballot, the Daily Telegraph's Washington correspondents compile a list of the 100 most influential liberals and conservatives in America. Top conservatives: 1-20 | 21-40 | 41-60 | 61-80 | 81-100 | Your choices
Top liberals: 1-20 | 21-40 | 41-60 | 61-80 | 81-100 | Your choices
2008 US presidential election | Perils of a Top 100 List
21. WARREN BUFFETT
Businessman and philanthropist
GIVE ME A BREAK, RICH GUY BITCHING ABOUT TAX CUTS, PROBABLY HAS ALL HIS MONEY IN A SWISS BANK
Billionaire investor who has publicly blasted George W. Bush’s tax cuts as favouring the wealthy and became an economic adviser to John Kerry. His father was a Republican congressman who voted against President Franklin Roosevelt’s “big government" plans and opposed membership in the United Nations. Barack Obama recently suggested that Warren Buffett would have made a fine presidential candidate. Lives frugally and gives away most of his colossal wealth, much of it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Has hosted fundraisers for Hillary Clinton and Obama, praising both for their “vision”. 22. MARK WARNER
Former governor of Virginia and 2008 Senate candidate
THINK THIS WAS A LIZ TAYLOR EX, PROBABLY WORE PINK RIBBON, SUPPORTED JACKO'S CHILD MOLESTING
Personable, moderate, executive experience, from a battleground state – for a while Warner seemed to be the centrist alternative to Hillary Clinton in the 2008 race. Perhaps wisely, he decided he wouldn’t beat her and at 52 appears to be playing a longer game. Would have been a natural vice-presidential pick but has decided to run for the Senate instead and is hot favourite to seize the seat from the Republicans. Add the Senate to his list of qualifications above and Warner would have a powerful claim to the presidency in 2016 or beyond. 23. COLIN POWELL
Former Secretary of State
ADVISED BUSH SR. NOT TO GO ON INTO BAGHDAD WHEN WE HAD 30 COUNTRIES HELPING, ALL THE DEAD SOLDIERS THIS TIME BELONG ON HIS SHOULDERS
As a former National Security Adviser under Ronald Reagan and Secretary of State under George W. Bush who was central to making the case for the Iraq war, Colin Powell is an unlikely liberal – though on social issues he has made no secret of his disagreements with Republicans. He appears on the liberal list because he has held informal advisory talks with Barack Obama and would be an inspired choice as Pentagon chief should a Democratic president be serious about bipartisanship. Our sense is that Powell would like to serve again and to do so in a Democratic administration would be a powerful way of atoning for Iraq. 24. JOHN EDWARDS
Presidential candidate
EVEN CHEATS AT GO FISH
As the white male in the Democratic stakes up against the might of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the former North Carolina senator is in a tough spot. John Kerry’s running mate in 2004 has staked everything on winning in Iowa and it looks unlikely he will pull it off. Southern trial lawyer and self-made multi-millionaire, Edwards has reinvented himself into a fiery populist and abandoned his centrist New Democrat credentials. His expensive haircuts and big house have made him a target of mockery and have sat uncomfortably with his anti-poverty crusade. 25. MICHAEL BLOOMBERG
New York mayor A lifelong Democrat who became a Republican to run for New York mayor and then switched his registration to Independent for a possible third-party presidential bid, the billionaire businessman defies categorisation but his influence is undeniable. Despite his fiscal conservatism, we have put him on the liberal list because of his stances on abortion, climate change, immigration reform and the death penalty – and because a self-financed Independent presidential campaign by Bloomberg could deliver a Hillary Clinton presidency in 2008 just as Ross Perot helped her husband Bill win in 1992. 26. HENRY WAXMAN
Congressman As chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (LMAO, A DEMOCRAT?  WHAT A JOKE), he has relentlessly investigated the Bush administration. Dubbed the “Scariest Man in Washington” by Time magazine in 2006, that is just what the diminutive Waxman has proved to be for Republicans as the chief investigator of what he views as George W. Bush’s misdeeds. Recently excoriated Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, and has shown he is not afraid of using his subpoena power. One of the chief reasons that Bush is likely to achieve little during his final year in office. Rahm Emanuel, a Democratic House leader, said recently: “"We want to be the party that is ferreting out waste and fraud and Henry's committee is the point of the spear for us." 27. BILL RICHARDSON
New Mexico governor and presidential candidate With 14 year in the House of Representatives, stints as US ambassador to the UN and Energy Secretary and now governor of New Mexico, Richardson’s political CV has it all. What’s more, he’s Hispanic – a voting bloc that could be key in 2008 – and his New Mexico is one of the wobbliest of swing states. All this fits Richardson ideally for the post of vice president, which is what his 2008 campaign really seems aimed at. But though he’s negotiated with North Korea and in Sudan, his debate performances have been less than assured at times. If he doesn’t make the veep slot, would be a fit for several other top jobs in a Hillary Clinton or Obama administration. 28. CHUCK SCHUMER
Senator Senior US Senator from New York who has been a stalwart supporter of Hillary Clinton and is one of the most powerful players on Capitol Hill. Masterminded the Democratic takeover of the Senate in 2006 against all the odds by selecting candidates who could win in their states even if they bucked the party orthodoxy. Ranks number three in the Senate hierarchy and led the successful campaign to force Alberto Gonzales to resign as Attorney General. A relentless self-publicist, even for a politician – Bob Dole once joked that "the most dangerous place in Washington is between Charles Schumer and a television camera". Sees himself as potentially the first Jewish US president. A likely New York governor. 29. VERNON JORDAN
Lawyer and businessman Close friend, golf buddy and adviser to President Bill Clinton who is perhaps best known for helping Monica Lewinsky find a job after the scandal erupted (CLEANED DRESS TOO, DID LOUSY JOB). Expect his loyalty to be rewarded in a Hillary Clinton administration or, at the very least, this top Friend of Bill to be a key lieutenant of the most powerful First Spouse in history. As a Washington lawyer and Democratic mover and shaker, he has broadened his network beyond the Clintons and in 2004 served as John Kerry’s debate organiser during the 2000 presidential campaign. Was a member of the Iraq Study Group. 30. JOE BIDEN
Senator for Delaware and presidential candidate
MCCAIN BETTER NOT NOMINATE HIM VICE PRESIDENT
A senator since age 30, few have the command of foreign policy that Biden possesses but at 65 he seems to be destined to always be the also ran in the presidential stakes – he first ran in 1988. His penchant for shooting his mouth off is endearing but a liability in the YouTube age. Moderate and unafraid of taking an unpopular stand, Biden must be a contender for Secretary of State in a Democratic administration. Best known in Britain for drawing heavily on Neil Kinnock’s speeches in his 1988 campaign – Biden slipped by forgetting the attribution. Plan for partitioning Iraq is steadily gaining traction and he would be preferred to be remembered for that. 31. BARNEY FRANK
Congressman A former Harvard lecturer, he is regarded by members on both sides of the aisle as one of the cleverest people on Capitol Hill and as chairman of House Financial Services Committee he has a lot of clout. Openly gay, he was once censured by the House Ethics Committee for a relationship with a male prostitute. First elected in 1980, he has controversially vowed to “out” gay Republicans on the ground of hypocrisy. On the liberal wing of the Democratic party, he is unstinting in his attacks on Republicans. Has described his Massachusetts rival Mitt Romney as “clearly an extraordinarily ambitious man with no perceivable political principle whatsoever” and “the most intellectually dishonest human being in the history of politics”. 32. ROBERT BYRD
Senator for West Virginia Longest serving – and, at 89, the oldest – member of Congress who is not up for re-election until 2013 and shows no sign of retiring. A master of Senate rules and procedures, if the Democrats are close to a filibuster-proof 60 senators after 2008, his Senate skills will be much in demand. A former member of the Ku Klux Klan, he was an avowed segregationist who said in the 1940s he would never serve alongside blacks in the US military. Took Barack Obama under his wing when the Illinois senator arrived on Capitol Hill and said of his KKK involvement: “I don't mind apologising over and over again. I can't erase what happened." 33. HARRY REID
Senate Majority Leader Has become one of the chief critics of the Bush administration but faced liberal criticism for failing to stop the “surge” or troop funding and has been bashed by conservatives for declaring the Iraq war, which he supported, as “lost”. Also prompted internal dismay when he was quoted as saying that “we're going to pick up Senate seats as a result of this war”. A Mormon, don’t expect Reid to be helping out his fellow religionist Mitt Romney any time soon. One of his four sons is Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman in the key state of Nevada. 34. HAROLD ICKES
Hillary Clinton adviser Known as “Hillary’s Hammer”, Ickes, the son of President Franklin Roosevelt’s Interior Secretary, was the man responsible for Bill Clinton’s successful re-election campaign in 1996 just two years after the “Republican revolution” swept Democrats out of power on Capitol Hill. A hard-nosed street fighter known for his fierce loyalty and for never forgetting a slight– both hallmarks of the Hillary Clinton campaign – he was a central figure in her 2006 Senate re-election and a power behind the scenes of her presidential bid. Ickes, 67, will be key in a general election against Rudy Giuliani – he was a senior adviser to David Dinkins when he defeated the future 9/11 hero in the New York mayor race in 1989. 35. GENE SPERLING
Economic adviser to Hillary Clinton Chief economic adviser in Bill Clinton’s White House and now a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton. Expect him to become head of the Office of Management and Budget or even Treasury Secretary if the former First Lady wins the White House. Has also been an adviser to the “West Wing” television series. Currently a senior fellow at the Centre for American Progress think tank – the Clinton White House in exile – Sperling has close ties to New Labour. Dedicated to reversing George W. Bush’s tax cuts, arguing: “Bush and Republican tax policy has slowly, but now I think completely, gotten out of touch with American values.” 36. MAUREEN DOWD
Columnist Tough, acerbic New York Times columnist whose biting wit has been turned on George W. Bush – “Bubble-Boy” and Dick Cheney – “Tricky Dick Deuce” for much of the past seven years. Since she’s been out on the campaign trail, she has ripped into Barack Obama – “Obambi” – and Hillary Clinton – “Hillzillah”. Dowd has the power to end a presidential campaign – just ask Joe Biden, whose 1988 bid for the White House was scuppered by Dowd’s reporting. She also got Hollywood mogul David Geffen to unload on Mrs Clinton. But the person with most to fear is whoever ends up becoming the Republican nominee. 37. JOHN KERRY
Senator for Massachusetts
MR. "MORE KETCHUP"
Democrats do not easily forgive their losing presidential nominees and John Kerry, narrowly defeated by George W. Bush in 2004, is no exception. Kerry was a poor candidate, lacking the common touch and allowing himself to be defined by his opponent. Still respected for his Vietnam record, despite the relentless attacks on it during the 2004 campaign, he damaged himself last year with a botched joke that suggested troops in Iraq were academic drop-outs. Still harbours presidential ambitions and has yet to endorse a candidate this time. 38. CHRIS MATTHEWS
Cable television host Motor-mouth presenter of MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews. Capitol Hill aide to the legendary House Speaker Tip O’Neill and a presidential speechwriter for Jimmy Carter. A former newspaper journalist, he had a failed run for a congressional seat in Pennsylvania in 1974. Has become an increasingly strident critic of the Bush administration and is vilified by conservatives as the epitome of a biassed liberal journalist. Pronouncements that the Bush administration was guilty of “criminality”, that the “frogs were right” to oppose the Iraq war and that it was a mistake to “declare war on Islam” are often cited against him. 39. JOE TRIPPI
Democratic strategist Senior adviser to John Edwards' campaign, Trippi, 51 (ARRANGED HIS "AFFAIRS"?), is one of the most sought-after political strategists and an ever-present on the presidential campaign circuit. Has worked for Ted Kennedy, Walter Mondale and Gary Hart and turned Howard Dean into an unlikely front runner in 2004. A former Silicon Valley consultant, Trippi is perhaps the established political operative who best understands the internet. He has an uphill battle on his hands working for Edwards, but Trippi has transformed the former North Carolina senator into a fiery populist who is now making the best case against Hillary Clinton. 40. BETH DOZORETZ
Fundraiser One of Hillary Clinton’s top “bundlers”, those who bring in over $100,000 to a candidate’s campaign, Dozoretz is probably Washington’s premiere hostess. Twice divorced by her late 30s, she married Ron Dozoretz, a businessman reportedly worth $250 million, and became involved in politics in 1992. An assiduous networker, she was a White House regular under Bill Clinton, even naming the then president as her daughter’s godfather. Professes to be mystified by her detractors, once saying: “To be painted as this unbelievably over-aggressive woman who had this master plan, I guess it goes with the territory but it's a little disconcerting." Lists compiled by the Telegraph staff in Washington – Toby Harnden, Alex Spillius, Tim Shipman, Amanda Halligan and Jessica Jerrell.