Time.com unveiled 200 names for its Time 100 (most influential people in the world) issue Thursday. Obviously, liberals and leftists have great influence in today's political sphere, but the conservatives drew about one-fourth the names on the ballot.
This may be picky, but I count about ten conservatives on the list. I put a few "half" picks in brackets for people who aren't as political and/or conservative:
9. Sarah Palin
15. Scott Brown
17. Roger Ailes
[55. Billy Graham]
68. Glenn Beck
72. Eric Cantor
[74. Ron Paul]
77. Mitt Romney
[88. Bristol Palin]
112. Rupert Murdoch
152. Samuel Alito Jr.
155. Andrew Breitbart
189. Benjamin Netanyahu
Meghan McCain, Olympia Snowe, and Arnold Schwarzenegger do not count. Neither does Ted Olson for crusading for gay marriage with David Boies.
My listing of the liberals and leftists counts 44 (and some judgment calls for less political celebrities). Liberals would say it's not surprising that Hollywood stars might tilt the list left.
4. Hillary Clinton
[6. James Cameron]
11. Nancy Pelosi
14. Michelle Obama
18. Dave Eggers
23. Catherine Ashton (UK Labour Party)
24. Arne Duncan
25. Neil Patrick Harris
26. Barack Obama
31. Oprah Winfrey
33. Rahm Emanuel
34. Alec Baldwin
35. Stephen Colbert
[36. Ellen DeGeneres]
39. Seth McFarlane
40. Jon Stewart
53. Michael Lewis
57. Banksy, British anarchist graffiti artist
65. Timothy Geithner
67. Annise Parker, gay mayor of Houston (D)
76. Paul Farmer
78. Atul Gawande
80. Jane Lynch
83. Jeff Zucker
87. Meryl Streep
[90. Adam Lambert]
94. Harvey Weinstein
95. Kanye West
100. Johanna Sigurardottir, lesbian prime minister of Iceland (Social Democrat)
113. Rachel Maddow
114. Ricky Gervais
121. Sonia Sotomayor
124. Warren Buffett
126. Bill and Melinda Gates
130. Dominique Strauss-Kahn (expected to be the Socialist challenger to Sarkozy)
131. Lawrence Summers
132. Kathleen Merrigan, deputy secretary of agriculture
133. Lisa Jackson
134. Michael Pollan
150. Hugo Chavez
151. Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva
153. Cory Booker
156. Evan Bayh
157. Peter Orszag
163. Elton John
180. George Clooney
These lists aren't really about "influence," although that is a factor. They're really more about being trendy, or interesting, or exotic. The magazine skipped President Bush, after all, and omits both Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell this time around in favor of a brand-new freshman Senator. But it's clear Time's idea of who is interesting and exciting might mesh with who they like.
[The Pelosi image is Time's ballot photo.]