What do you expect from guys who don't even know where to put the steering wheel?

The UK Telegraph, today, unveiled the final 10 names on its 50 Most Influential Pundits list, and the erstwhile MC landed in the #1 spot.

Dubbed the "architect" and "Bush's brain", Rove plotted to rise of George W Bush and departed the White House after the disastrous 2006 mid-term elections. Successful punditry is a combination of real political experience, intellectual nimbleness, a provocative turn of phrase and a coherent point of view. Rove, a Fox News commentator and contributor to Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal, has all these qualities.

Isn't being called "Bush's Brain" is a bit like being called "Lou Dobb's Sexual Magnetism?"

Rove is unquestionably influential as a strategist, but I don't see that he's really made his bones yet as a pundit.

The balance of the Top 10 leans heavily on size and loyalty of the respective pundits' audience. With the exceptions of perhaps #8 Jon Stewart, #9 David Brooks, and #5 Politico, the Top 10 may be recognizable, but they don't have a big influence on political thought. Matt Drudge at #6 is less a pundit than a pundit birdfeeder.

#4 Rush Limbaugh has a huge and loyal audience, but his influence begins and ends with them. #3 Sean Hannity and #2 Chris Matthews both have brash personae, but don't go much deeper than the surface.

After the jump, the full list and coverage up to date.

Here's the complete list:

50. RACHEL MADDOW
49. MARY MATALIN
48. PAUL KRUGMAN
47. JC WATTS
46. MARK LEVIN
45. FRED BARNES
44. JEFFREY TOOBIN
43. PAUL BEGALA
42. BILL BENNETT
41. MARK SHIELDS
40. TONY SNOW
39. DEE DEE MYERS
38. MICHAEL BARONE
37. EUGENE ROBINSON
36. NEWT GINGRICH
35. JOE TRIPPI
34. HOWARD KURTZ
33. ROLAND MARTIN
32. WILLIAM KRISTOL
31. JUAN WILLIAMS
30. PEGGY NOONAN
29. RON FOURNIER
28. JAMES CARVILLE
27. PAT BUCHANAN
26. ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
25. MICHAEL SAVAGE
24. LAURA INGRAHAM
23. MIKE ALLEN
22. DICK MORRIS
21. DAVID GERGEN
20. JOE KLEIN
19. DONNA BRAZILE
18. FRANK LUNTZ
17. ANDREW SULLIVAN
16. GLENN BECK
15. BILL MAHER
14. CHUCK TODD
13. KEITH OLBERMANN
12. BILL O'REILLY
11. STEPHEN COLBERT
10. MARK HALPERIN
9. DAVID BROOKS
8. JON STEWART
7. TIM RUSSERT
6. MATT DRUDGE
5. JOHN HARRIS AND JIM VANDEHEI
4. RUSH LIMBAUGH
3. SEAN HANNITY
2. CHRIS MATTHEWS
1. KARL ROVE

And the rest of our Top 50 coverage:

The UK Telegraph is revealing its list of the Top 50 Most Influential Political Pundits:

The Daily Telegraph today unveils its list of the 50 most influential political pundits to help readers sort through whose opinions matter. These are the people who make voters sit up and take notice. They are the ones who political candidates and campaigns are constantly seeking to woo and influence. They include television presenters, newspaper columnists, bloggers and talking heads.

We considered the depth and reach of pundits – the weight given to their opinions and the distance their views travel. Those who appear in different media - print, electronically and via television and radio – lifted themselves higher.

I will post the results as they become available. So far, they have posted numbers 31-50, with notable inclusions being Rachel Maddow at number 50 with a bullet, and my pal Joe Trippi at 35, besting number 36 Newt Gingrich, but not William Kristol's 32nd place finish.

Let's have a little fun with this. Give me your predictions for the rest of the list, and your agreements/gripes.



Update: 21-30 were announced today. I haven't heard back from those I've contacted, but I'm starting to think th Telegraph's editors left their fish & chips sitting in the car for too long. Michael Savage more influential than Rachel Maddow? He may have a larger audience, but preaching to th choir is not the same thing as influence.

I do have to hand it to Pat Buchanan, despite remaining a harsh ideologue off-camera, he has been spot-on with much of his analysis on MSNBC.

Really quick predictions: Keith Olbermann will be number 1, and my longshot pick to be left off the list is Markos Moulitsas. Preaching to the choir, again.

Top 50 Pundits: Colbert Beats 'Papa Bear,' Keith

The UK Telegraph continued its rollout of the 50 Most Inluential Political Pundits with numbers 20-11 today, and it looks like Colbert has been the beneficiary of a "Himself Bump," just edging out his friend, mentor, and microwave provider, "Papa Bear" Bill O'Reilly.

Also sure to be disappointed are fans of Keith Olbermann, who landed at #13, forming the bottom slice of bread in an O'Reilly sandwich. I, myself, predicted a #1 finish for the Special Commenter, and must now further question the judgment of my tea-sipping, croquet-playing brethren across the pond.Also sure to be disappointed are fans of Keith Olbermann, who landed at #13, forming the bottom slice of bread in an O'Reilly sandwich. I, myself, predicted a #1 finish for the Special Commenter, and must now further question the judgment of my tea-sipping, croquet-playing brethren across the pond.

Right behind "Delegate Math Whiz" Chuck Todd is my friend, Diana's fave, cranky contrarian Bill Maher. Even more politically incorrect at #16 is Glenn Beck, trailed by The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan, focus group guru Frank Luntz, CNN panelist Donna Brazile, and rounding out the 20th spot is Time's Joe Klein.



Once the list is complete, I'll weigh in more thoroughly on each, but for now let me just say that some obvious omissions here are Keith Olbermann, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Cenk Uygur, and many more. The real question in my mind, though, is how cutting-edge will the Telegraph get?

Rachel Maddow at 50 is a bad sign. She's on a rocket ride to punditry super-stardom, far more influential than that standing indicates. Of course, the Telegraph is based in the UK, where they still close their stores on Sundays and haven't worked out the details of dispensing ice, so this is to be expected.

While we wait for the rest of the list, here are my questions for you:

Who would you expect to be on the list but will be left off?

Of those on the list, who is on the way up, and who's headed for Yakov Smirnov-ville?

Who are the unexpected rookies?

Check back later, and we'll discuss.

Update: I just talked to number 35 himself, Joe Trippi:

Tommy Christopher: Joe, I wanted to see what you thought about being named to the UK Telegraph's 50 Most Influential Pundits list.

Joe Trippi: What? When did that come out?

Tommy Christopher: They're rolling the list out today, they're up to number 31. You're number 35. What do you think?

Joe Trippi: That's very flattering...but...I don't know what that means.

Tommy Christopher: (laughs) Well, you're more influential than Newt Gingrich.

Joe Trippi: (laughs) That's good!

Tommy Christopher: So, how do you feel about that?

Joe Trippi: Well. Anything I've done, that I can do, to help get young people involved in politics makes me feel good.

Update: I caught up with Rachel Maddow this morning. Click Here for her reactions.

Rachel Maddow: Number 50 With a Bullet!

As I reported earlier, The UK Telegraph is rolling out its list of the 50 Most Influential US Pundits, but I didn't have to go far to find my favorite, Rachel Maddow. From my 4/18/08 story (I don't know if it's tacky to quote yourself, but it sure sounds fun) :

Rachel Maddow has a prepossessed quality that a lot of liberals lack, a way of stuffing an opponent and cutting to the chase while looking completely reasonable that has made her a popular contributor to MSNBC. She recently filled in for Keith Olbermann on Countdown, after having taped a pilot for MSNBC, leading many to speculate that a Maddow show is on the horizon.

I've been a Rachel Maddow fan since Air America first went on the air. She was co-host of Unfiltered, along with Chuck D and Lizz Winstead. Alas, the show was disbanded in favor of Jerry Springer, a move akin to replacing Lou Gehrig with Wally Pipp.

Thankfully, the future for Maddow is so bright, she's gotta wear shades, and cut down on her carbon emissions.

I contacted Rachel about landing on the list, and she was generous enough to indulge me.

Update: This is for you, Rachel. Thanks.

Here is our exchange, over the course of 2 emails: .

Tommy Christopher: Rachel, you were named to the UK Telegraph's Top 50 Most Influential Political Pundits list. What's your reaction?

Rachel Maddow: My reaction can be roughly summed up by the phrase "Woohoo!". Nice to be noticed. I was particularly thrilled to see myself described as "cute" -- before I reread it and realized that what they actually said was that I was "acute" -- I'll take it anyway.

Tommy Christopher: Do you think the number 50 spot is a little low, maybe a nod to your newcomer status on the tube?

Rachel Maddow: I think they're trying to subtly highlight the fact that I'm on the younger side of 50 -- a rare thing in the pundit world. It's numerical irony, maybe?

Tommy Christopher: As a follow-up, what about Mary Matalin at number 49? Do you really think she's more influential than you? This decade?

Rachel Maddow: Mary Matalin is very fancy. I aspire to her level of influence and panache. She oughtta be way higher than 49 -- she should appeal the rankings.

Tommy Christopher: What about the fact that only 3 of the 20 named so far are women?

Rachel Maddow: There's a woman running for president who can't go three days on the campaign trail without some supposedly serious pundit opining on the state of her marriage, her ability to "control" her husband, or how her looks are faring as she ages. In that context, I think 3 women to 17 guys is probably a par-for-the-course ratio.

Tommy Christopher: You've been on a roll, all over the TV lately. Is there a Rachel Maddow Power Hour on the horizon?

Rachel Maddow: Three hours of radio and as much television as I can cram into every day probably adds up to more Rachel Maddow Power Hours than anyone can stand, but if the media gods give me another inch, I'll take a mile...

Tommy Christopher: I think the line for what constitutes a political news story has all but been erased. Both the Wright and Ayers stories bubbled beneath the surface for many months, but no legit media would report them until ABC made it O.K. by framing them as "voter concerns." Is there still a line?

Rachel Maddow: There are differences between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on gas prices, on Iran, on Iraq, on diplomacy, on nukes, on health care -- but explaining those differences requires some care, some attention, some time, and some expertise.

When you're trying to make politics entertaining... it's easier (and cheaper) to ignore policy and instead make the election about personality, so that's what we've been treated to. Not a new phenomenon, certainly, even if it does shortchange us as voters.

But in the era of shrinking newsrooms and the expanding blogosphere, the prioritization of the entertainment value in politics has also turned into a race-to-the-bottom for what's too low, too scurrilous to report.

My shorthand description for guilt-by-association and rumors and innuendo used to be "The John McCain Has a Black Baby Stuff" -- the implication was that there was a seamy underside to politics (particularly Republican politics) that involved untraceable evil rumors turning up on flyers tucked under windshield-wipers. Candidates would decry or ignore the slime, but they knew it was often consequential on the margins.

Now there *are* no margins. The slime I call "The John McCain Has a Black Baby Stuff" is front-and-center on cable news and is even brought up at actual Presidential debates.