Nicholas B. Jackson

Back in November, The Daily Telegraph released their comprehensive list of the 100 most influential liberals and 100 most influential conservatives in America. The list generated a lot of response–both positive and negative. (The Governator in the top 20 list for liberals? At least Michael Barone, a columnist for U.S. News & World Report–and the 87th most influential conservative according to the list–acknowledged that legitimate arguments were made for what he would consider “eccentric” choices) While you may disagree with the rankings, I thought it would be interesting to see what each of the top 10 had to say about our current candidates.

1. BILL CLINTON (Former U.S. president)

A peerless tactician, huge intellect and natural communicator, Bill Clinton was one of the great retail politicians of the 20th century.

On OBAMA: You said in 2004 you didn’t know how you would have voted on the resolution, you said in 2004 there was no difference between you and George Bush on the war, and you took that speech you’re now running on off your Web site in 2004, and there’s no difference in your voting record and Hillary’s ever since. Give me a break. This whole thing is the biggest fairytale I’ve ever seen.

On CLINTON: We have a future out there that could be the most glorious, peaceful prosperous time in human history, or it could be more unraveling, growing more unequal at home and more isolated from the rest of the world. She is the best person to take us in the right direction.

2. AL GORE (Environmental campaigner)

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.

Former Vice President Al Gore has been careful not to endorse either candidate. When the media frenzy started to die down that he might toss his own hat into the race (over 200,000 people have signed a petition asking him to run), the focus shifted to who he would endorse instead. The general consensus seems to be that he would endorse Obama, but has kept from doing so just in case Clinton wins the nomination and then, the White House. With a Nobel Prize and an Academy Award under his belt and more attention than he has ever received in the past, this will be the term for Gore to make a significant impact on climate control legislation and he has refrained from burning any bridges.

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.

On OBAMA: On a conference call with reporters just now, Hillary pollster Mark Penn sought to make the case for her electability by dredging up bad memories of the GOP and right-wing media’s successful efforts to redefine Al Gore and John Kerry, arguing that Hillary wouldn’t succumb to such tactics … Penn said that Hillary has “withstood” this process, while Obama would find that his independent support “would evaporate relatively quickly once he faced the Republicans.” Penn added that the GOP “is already playing the national security card against Obama.”

4. HILLARY CLINTON (Senator for New York and presidential candidate)

Could this woman be the 44th U.S. 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.

On OBAMA: Maybe I’ve just lived a little long, but I have no illusions about how hard this is going to be. You are not going to wave a magic wand and have the special interests disappear.

5. NANCY PELOSI (Speaker of the House of Representatives)

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.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has, like Gore, decided not to endorse either candidate. A spokesman told TIME back in January: “Speaker Pelosi is chair of the Democratic Convention and has decided not to endorse any of the candidates. She is thrilled with the enthusiastic Democratic turnout in Iowa and New Hampshire and expects it to build in upcoming primaries. The country is clearly ready for a New Direction, and the Speaker looks forward to working with a Democrat in the White House and having a bigger Democratic majority in Congress next year.”

However, Arianna Huffington–another lister–has written that Pelosi is “leaning toward Obama” and much talk has been made about California congressman George Miller’s endorsement of Obama. According to MSNBC, “this is perhaps the closest thing to getting a Nancy Pelosi endorsement as you can come without actually getting it. Miller is incredibly close with her politically. He wouldn’t be doing this without her consent of sorts.”

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.

On CLINTON: Ten years after NAFTA passed, Sen. Clinton said it was good for America. … Well, I don’t think NAFTA has been good for America – and I never have. The fact is, she was saying great things about NAFTA until she started running for President.

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.

Back in January, Michael Moore wasn’t saying the best things about any of the candidates (see below). But, then again, who does he like? Apparently John Edwards. (On EDWARDS: Edwards is the only one of the three front-runners who has a universal health care plan that will lead to the single-payer kind all other civilized countries have. His plan doesn’t go as fast as I would like, but he is the only one who has correctly pointed out that the health insurance companies are the enemy and should not have a seat at the table.) But he refrained from endorsing any candidate. Now that we’re down to the final two Moore said on Larry King in early February that he is “morally prohibited from voting for Hillary in the primaries because of her war votes.”

On OBAMA: Senator Obama has a big heart, and that heart is in the right place. Is he electable? Will more than 50% of America vote for him? We’d like to believe they would. We’d like to believe America has changed, wouldn’t we? Obama lets us feel better about ourselves — and as we look out the window at the guy snowplowing his driveway across the street, we want to believe he’s changed, too. But are we dreaming?

On CLINTON: I have a theory: Hillary knows the sexist country we still live in and that one of the reasons the public, in the past, would never consider a woman as president is because she would also be commander in chief. The majority of Americans were concerned that a woman would not be as likely to go to war as a man (horror of horrors!). So, in order to placate that mindset, perhaps she believed she had to be as “tough” as a man, she had to be willing to push The Button if necessary, and give the generals whatever they wanted. If this is, in fact, what has motivated her pro-war votes, then this would truly make her a scary first-term president.

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.

On OBAMA: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, weighing in on the presidential race, said that both Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are on the right track in “talking about bringing people together” across partisan lines…

On CLINTON: In an interview with Politico last year, Schwarzenegger said he thinks Democrats should stop criticizing Hillary Clinton for refusing to say she made a mistake by voting for the Iraq war.

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.

On OBAMA: For the first time in my life, I feel compelled to stand up and speak for the man that I believe has a new vision for America. I am not here to tell you what to think. I am here to ask you to think, seriously.

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.

On CLINTON: I have seen firsthand how effective she is interacting with global leaders and the respect she commands. I believe that her approach to our national security challenges will be strong but also more effective, because it will be more thoughtful and comprehensive than the current administration’s. Senator Clinton is both tough and smart.

• Originally published: Texas Monthly 2008.02.28