Steve M is skeptical about the vast and far-reaching influence of Drew Carey. I don't know; he could be the 39th most influential conservative in America. After all, in 1998 he "held a 'smoke-in'...to defy anti-smoking laws". What, you didn't hear about that? Okay, neither did I. Still. Hey, he's critical of the Iraq war--that's a plus.
But the real news in this list is that George Bush, the President of the United States, fails to make the top 20. In fact, I get the feeling that even his #21 spot is just another gentleman's C.
I'll outsource comment to Kevin Drum, who had the same first and second reactions I did:
First, it couldn't happen to a more deserving guy. Second, don't let conservatives get away with "distancing" themselves from Bush. They all loved him when he was riding high, and they'd love him still if he weren't polling in Richard Nixon territory. But his lousy numbers are mostly because he's stuck with policies that conservatives all hailed as visionary a mere couple of years ago. So here's the new Pottery Barn rule: they broke him, they bought him. Like it or not, he's your baby.Need I point out that every major Republican presidential candidate has fully endorsed those same policies?
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