Who can you trust in the News Media? or Can you trust anyone in the News Media?

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Since facts, truth, and honesty all seem to be absent in the news media of today the question becomes who can you trust?  The answer was already provided by real Americans in polls undertaken by the news media.

With a variety of polls this past year showing trust in the news media has fallen to 7%, the lowest ratings ever, one must conclude you do not go to the media for truth.

First their is the obvious political bias with The New York Times leading the anti-Trump media establishment along with fellow progressive advocates NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, Washington Post, Politico, and on and on.

So why would you want to rely on any of these blatantly biased Trump haters?  Take The New York Times for example.

On February 13, 2017 they ran the following story based on a column by 2 psychiatry professionals.

The New York Times

 

The Opinion Pages | LETTER

Mental Health Professionals Warn About Trump

FEB. 13, 2017

To the Editor:

Charles M. Blow (column, nytimes.com, Feb. 9) describes Donald Trump’s constant need “to grind the opposition underfoot.” As mental health professionals, we share Mr. Blow’s concern.

Silence from the country’s mental health organizations has been due to a self-imposed dictum about evaluating public figures (the American Psychiatric Association’s 1973 Goldwater Rule). But this silence has resulted in a failure to lend our expertise to worried journalists and members of Congress at this critical time. We fear that too much is at stake to be silent any longer.

Mr. Trump’s speech and actions demonstrate an inability to tolerate views different from his own, leading to rage reactions. His words and behavior suggest a profound inability to empathize. Individuals with these traits distort reality to suit their psychological state, attacking facts and those who convey them (journalists, scientists).

In a powerful leader, these attacks are likely to increase, as his personal myth of greatness appears to be confirmed. We believe that the grave emotional instability indicated by Mr. Trump’s speech and actions makes him incapable of serving safely as president.

LANCE DODES

JOSEPH SCHACHTER

Beverly Hills, Calif.

Dr. Dodes is a retired assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Schachter is a former chairman of the Committee on Research Proposals, International Psychoanalytic Association. The letter was also signed by 33 other psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers.

Correction: February 14, 2017 

An earlier version of this letter misstated the number of co-signers in addition to the two lead signers. There were 33, not 35.

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Hard core progressives seem to forget the credibility issues of our news media when they agree with the story.  Even the article shown ends with an acknowledgement the facts are inaccurate, note the correction at the end.

But they fail to tell the truth when they imply the opinion of two people means there is a national consensus among professionals, a conclusion nothing short of journalistic hypocrisy. At last count there were 50,000 psychiatrists, 170,200 psychologists, and 642,000 social workers in America.  This story represents the opinions of just two of the 862,200 professionals in the fields.

Follow the folly of fools and become a fool yourself.

Here are recent headlines about the integrity of The New York Times.

Hillary Clinton campaign blasts 'egregious' errors by The New York Times

by Brian Stelter   @brianstelter July 31, 2015: 7:15 AM ET

Clinton campaign complains of 'egregious' New York Times reporting errors

By Dylan Byers

07/30/15 09:51 PM EDT

The F.B.I. Criticizes the News Media After Several Mistaken Reports of an Arrest

By BILL CARTERAPRIL 17, 2013

Continue reading the main story Share This Page

Continue reading the main story

Citing 13 Erroneous Statements, Issa Demands NY Times Retract Error-Ridden Front Page Story

Issa's office

August 19, 2011

August 8, 2014 11:20 am

The New York Times’s Erroneous and Shameful Defense of Hamas

by Debra Feuer / JNS.org

NYT Finally Corrects Erroneous Planned Parenthood Stories

Rachel Stoltzfoos

Reporter

How the False Story of Kitty Genovese’s Murder Went Viral

By Jesse Singal

Winston Moseley, the man who killed Catherine “Kitty” Genovese in 1964, died last week in prison, the New York Times reported yesterday.

Erroneous New York Times Article on Mercury

·                                 Document Type: DOC

·                                 Language: English

·                                 Tags: Mercury, mercury elimination, Mercury Device Phase Out

Erroneous article on the New York times which covers Mercury-containing devices.

MEDIA WATCH: New York Times corrects error in quote from Sarah Chambers in front page article about Rahm Emanuel's problems...

George N. Schmidt - September 16, 2015

  

Glaring Front Page Error by David Sanger, New York Times as Iran Nuclear Negotiations Near Deadline

November 4, 2014/17 Comments/in Foreign Policy, Science /by Jim White

New York Times Forced to Correct Erroneous Abortion Story

Opinion  

David Schmidt   Aug 29, 2011   |   7:12PM    Washington, DC

New York Times Rewrites Iraq War History

To Bush—and Times—WMDs were not just a 'possibility'

Archives:
Behind the News

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong

Alessandra Stanley’s troubling history of error

By Craig Silverman

July 24, 2009 1000 words

Alessandra Stanley has fallen back into old habits. This week, the New York Times television critic was responsible for a long, embarrassing correction:

Nov 3, 2016 @ 03:55 PM 13,014 views Peek Inside The Billionaire Portfolio Of Trump’s Key Advisor

Experts Slam New York Times Hack Job On GMOs

CNBC Moderator Harwood Admits Premise of His Question on Rubio's Tax Plan is Erroneous

Earlier tonight moderator John Harwood, of CNBC and the New York Times, attacked Senator Marco Rubio's tax plan on the grounds that it disproportionately benefited the top one percent of earners. Rubio insisted the premise of his question was wrong, but Harwood stuck to his guns. Here's the exchange:

HARWOOD: Senator Rubio, 30 seconds to you.

8:52 PM, Oct 28, 2015 | By Mark Hemingway

Earlier tonight moderator John Harwood, of CNBC and the New York Times, attacked Senator Marco Rubio's tax plan on the grounds that it disproportionately benefited the top one percent of earners.

Erroneous Study Of Advanced Prostate Cancer Criticized By Experts

Johnson D

This week, bad news for adult men has plagued the internet in the United States. Experts found that a study from Northwestern University was based on false information reporting that the cases of advanced, aggressive prostate cancer had risen sharply from 2004- 2013.
A report from The New York Times claimed that there are several organizations that covered the study including Newsweek, NBC, CBS, Fox News and United Press Internationals. Their reports revealed that recent medical advice against routine screening may be the one to blame for the supposed rise in advanced cases because it causes diagnosis to be delayed until the cancer is already too late to be treated. Another factor that was pointed was the possibility that prostate cancer were more aggressive than it originally was.

However, on Wednesday, the American Cancer Society disputed the validity of the Northwestern researchers' findings. According to Dr. Otis Brawley, the society's chief medical officer, said the methodology used by the researchers was defective, leading to the study's false conclusions, upi.com reported.

Seven Errors in Today's New York Times Editorial

By Benjamin Wittes

Sunday, July 17, 2011, 2:07 PM

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Where are Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton when you need them? Extreme Radical Right Conservatives reject Trump and Republican Party

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Threaten Independent candidate for Extremist Agenda

If only the good old days were here, you would find the Extreme Radical Right Wing Conservatives challenging a presidential candidate to a duel and there would be a 50-50 chance they would lose.

Of course back then it was the bad boy Burr who challenged Hamilton, a rising star in national politics, when Burr was Vice President and Hamilton was about to end Burr's political career.  Since dueling was illegal at the time, they moved it from New York to New Jersey where law enforcement has an entirely different meaning.

Hamilton deliberately missed Burr with his first shot, as Burr was up for re-election, because Hamilton already lost a son several years earlier in a duel and he did not want to shoot a sitting vice president.  It was a nice gesture but did not work out so well in the end because Burr thought otherwise and killed Hamilton.

Once Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination this past week, the first thing that happened was the self-proclaimed elite of the GOP establishment, those neocons who dominate the radio and television airwaves and control all the magazines and online super-conservative press, showed their true colors and it was not a pretty sight.

Convinced the American public is stupid and not capable of selecting a president, while ignoring the fact Trump is well on his way to shattering the record for most votes in a Republican primary campaign in history, they pouted, cried foul, and declared the radical right wing conservative philosophy was far more important than the Republican Party.

Are you kidding me?  This was the perfect example of ego, elitism, and intellectual constipation that Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders declared the enemy of our national interest.  In colonial terms, it was an act of treason.  In today's age it is merely the dying breath of an institutional dinosaur that considers itself the sole hope for the future of humankind.

What is a radical right wing Republican?

This is a minuscule group of beltway eggheads, whose only accomplishment since President Obama took office was the idiotic shutdown of the government.  Why idiotic, these self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives managed to cost the US economy between $12 and $24 billion before finally giving up and caving in.

In fact it was the only thing Senator Ted Cruz accomplished since he was elected to the Senate.

So who is it that anointed the radical right wing special interest as the spokesperson for the Republican Party?  No one as far as I can ascertain.  Fact is the Party of Lincoln is grounded in a very centrist view of government balancing the left against the right, liberalism and conservatism, and a strong central government versus state's rights.

The conservative movement became a self-proclaimed dominant force after the term of President Ronald Reagan, a hero they quote often, but whose philosophy of the role of government is not consistent with the radical right.  Reagan was once a Democrat, leader of the Hollywood Screen Actors Guild, and Governor of California, hardly the perfect credentials to lead the conservative cause.

Right wing conservatives consider the highlight of their influence to be when the federal budget was last balanced in the late 1990's, when the wars were launched in the early 2000's, and when Cruz shut down the government a couple of years ago.

Seems a pretty meager benefit for a period of nearly 36 years, since Reagan took over.  Fact is the increase in government spending and the national debt has exploded over the years in spite of the conservative efforts.  Of course, liberal spending during the same time-period has exploded even more.

How did they do balancing the budget and slashing the National debt?

Balancing the budget took place only when Bill Clinton was president so the conservatives can only claim partial credit.  The Bush years reflect the consequences of an aggressive worldwide war policy that did not have favorable results from a debt standpoint.

While Obama did start out with the recession, he promised to get us out of war, and that did not happen, so his liberal agenda helped drive the national debt up even further.  The cumulative result of all the political promises and wasteful spending by both parties will be a 21 trillion dollar debt when the next president takes office.

What can we expect this year?

As you listen to all the new political promises, ask yourself where the money comes from to pay for the campaign rhetoric.  Our economy is stagnate, so new jobs are the
only hope for digging ourselves out of the massive fissure we fell in to and which we stand to bequeath to our children.

    

Here are the facts, starting with the historical data on the national debt.

Here are the years since Reagan became president.  Note even the period when Bill Clinton balanced the federal budget, the national debt continued to increase.

At the same time the debt was increasing so was the annual federal budget.

Here is who owns our national debt and us.

Pay attention to our candidates, a millionaire and a billionaire, as they battle for the hearts and votes of middle class America, the silent majority.

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America's Most Powerful Conservatives in the Eyes of the Brits - The View from Across the Pond

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The Telegraph - UK

The most influential US conservatives

The final instalment of Telegraph.co.uk's list of the conservatives who most influence American politics.

By Toby Harnden, US Editor

1. Dick Cheney (6 in the 2007 list )

Former Vice President of the United States

A low key and intensely loyal vice-president, Dick Cheney has emerged as the principal tormentor of Barack Obama in the past year, shaping the national debate on national security and forcing the White House to scramble to respond. Cheney signalled his intent way back in February when he stated that protecting America was “a tough, mean, dirty, nasty business” in which “evil people” would not be stopped “by turning the other cheek”. Having campaigned against the “politics of fear” and ridiculing the notion of a war on terror, Obama is finding out that the Islamist threat was not something dreamed up by Cheney and Bush. The President has been repeatedly rattled by Cheney, as illustrated by his decision last May to time a speech so that it would coincide with the former vice-president’s address at the American Enterprise Institute. It was Cheney who framed Obama’s delay on deciding his Afghanistan surge strategy as “dithering” – and the characterisation stuck.

Some Republicans are deeply uncomfortable about Cheney being the voice of national security for the party – and in many respects the main voice on any issue. They fret that he is old and white and grumpy and has low approval rating – making him, in essence, everything that Obama is not (though the gap between their approval ratings is narrowing). We judge that this is missing the point. Cheney’s role at this stage – before a new Republican leader emerges – is to energise the party base (and he will also be a prodigious fundraiser for 2010 and 2012), keep Obama on the back foot and engage in the “tough, mean, dirty, nasty business” of politics that some with their names on future ballots would prefer to sit out.

2. Rush Limbaugh (5)

Talk radio host

The king of conservative talk radio – in fact, any talk radio – continues to go from strength to strength. Much slimmer, due to get married for a fourth time on the Fourth of July and having just survived a heart attack scare in Honolulu, Limbaugh’s influence continues to expand far beyond his show. When Michael Steele, chair of the Republican National Committee, described Limbaugh’s rhetoric as “incendiary" and "ugly", he soon corrected himself and apologised: “My intent was not to go after Rush - I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh." Limbaugh, who turned 59 this week, has clearly got inside Obama’s head and the White House unwisely decided to brand him as the de facto leader of the Republican party as a way of marginalising the GOP. This only served to elevate Limbaugh – the vast majority of whose critics clearly never listen to his show.

Limbaugh flexed his muscle during the 2008 democratic primary battle by encouraging his listeners to vote for Hillary Clinton against Obama in what he dubbed “Operation Chaos”. Democratic operatives concede that he had an effect. Since Obama was elected, Limbaugh has gone after him like a starving pit bull let loose on a lamb. He has described Obama’s political rise as “a five-minute career" of a man who was "immature, inexperienced, in over his head", charging: “I think he's got an out-of-this-world ego. He's very narcissistic. And he's able to focus all attention on him all the time.” This prompted David Axelrod, a top Obama adviser, to respond rather lamely: “I think it's a surreal day when you're getting lectures on humility from Rush Limbaugh. The fact is that he is an entertainer. The president has to run the country." But Limbaugh does not underestimate Obama. This week, he warned: “He is not a cool, calm customer. He's a cold, calculating one, and he has a vision of America that is not yours and not mine.”

3. Matt Drudge (3)

Internet pioneer, owner of The Drudge Report

Many have predicted Drudge’s demise but the internet pioneer who sprung to national attention when he broke the Monica Lewinsky scandal as the mainstream media hesitated endures. As with Limbaugh, the White House despises Drudge but cannot stop thinking about him. When Drudge posted a video of Obama Biographies Plus News talking about the end of private health insurance in 2007, the White House sent out Linda Douglass, White House Deputy Communications Director and a former ABC News reporter to brand them "outright falsehoods”. Drudge promptly posted the clip of Douglass, who came off second in the tussle. Establishment journalism types often decry Drudge but many of them are in email contact with him and crave a link that can immediately catapult one of their stories to the top of their newspaper website’s “most viewed” list.

Perhaps the most reclusive figures in modern journalism, Drudge’s air of mystery is such that some people wonder whether he still exists. He did, however, make an appearance at a Washington DC rally when Hillary Clinton pulled out of the Democratic primary contest in June 2008. Very occasionally, he will return an email at a strange time of day. Although based in Miami, he is rumoured to be constantly on the move and often abroad. An admirer of the British media (which he frequently links to) he is believed to have spent time in the UK recently. His website remains defiantly low tech. As the Telegraph’s own Shane Richmond described it: “It’s a simple idea, executed brilliantly. The Drudge Report is a page of search results, handpicked for an audience its author knows well.” His site is reputedly run by just him and one other person, based in Los Angeles. Such is the fascination with what motivates Drudge’s choices that the Washington Post’s Chris Cilizza coined the term “Drudge-ologist”, who dismissed “the inevitable argument that Drudge's influence is overblown” by saying: “Tomorrow morning, take a minute to look at the stories Drudge is highlighting. Then, later in the day, watch a few cable channels to see what stories they are talking about. It will open your eyes.”

4. Sarah Palin (Not in the 2007 list)

Former Alaska governor

Palin came from nowhere in terms of the public consciousness in 2008 to become an instant political and media star who is vilified and lauded in equal measure. Things have not been smooth for Palin. Clearly unprepared to be a national candidate, John McCain rolled the dice when he chose her as his vice-presidential running mate. Initially, it seemed to pay off. She delivered a masterful speech at the Republican convention in St Paul, Minnesota, electrified a Republican base that had been distinctly underwhelmed by McCain – and the GOP nominee briefly edged ahead in the polls. It soon became apparent, however, that the McCain campaign was divided over whether Palin was an asset or a liability. They shielded her from the press, wounded her confidence and then plonked her in front of network anchors who made her look foolish and tongue-tied.

Rather than go back to Alaska, become a first-class governor, study policy issues and gently reintroduce herself to the “Lower 48” states in due course, Palin decided to do something entirely different. Stating that “only dead fish go with the flow”, she resigned the Alaska governorship, published a book that broke publishing records and, this week, signed on as a Fox News contributor. It remains unclear whether Palin intends to run for President – she may well genuinely not know herself – but she will certainly be one of conservatism’s most influential figures for the forseeable future. Rich Lowry of National Review described her as “an isotope designed to course throughout our politics and culture, lighting up press bias, self-congratulatory liberalism, Christianity-hating secularism, and intellectual condescension wherever they are found”. Whether she could be a saviour for Republicans or doom them to continued irrelevance is a question that will continue to divide conservatives across America.

5. Robert Gates (7)

Defence Secretary

The low-key Gates, a former CIA director whose original cover (soon blown) as a trainee spy was as a Pentagon official, was lured away from his beloved Texas A&M University by President George W. Bush to replace Donald Rumsfeld at the end of 2006. Over a 27-year Agency career, Gates became the only person ever to rise from entry level to CIA chief. Obama dismayed many liberals by asking Gates to stay on but even though it is clear he is fulfilling much more than a caretaker his detractors are now quiet. During the autumn debate over troops levels in Afghanistan, Gates played a pivotal role in persuading Obama to commit more forces to support General Stanley McChrystal’s plan. The “Option 2A" that Obama eventually went for was essentially Gates’s formula.

Having overseen the Iraq surge, Gates is now charged with making the Afghanistan surge work. Although weighed down by military losses, Gates is finding his job so rewarding that he and Obama recently agreed he would stay on for at least another year. Firmly in the “realist” school of foreign policy, Gates still considers himself a Republican and his approach and style could well provide the template for presidential candidates in the post-Bush era.

6. Glenn Beck (18)

Fox News presenter

The fastest-rising star of cable television, Beck delivers monologues that veer from doom-saying to tears, jokes and rapid fire analysis of Obamaland’s suspect connections, hidden beliefs and dark plots. His subjects include: the threat of fascism/communism, terrorism, Wall Street fat cats, Mexico’s collapse, the decline of religion and power of the liberal media. All this is united by the theme of impending doom and the fear that the ordinary American is being forgotten.

It is working spectacularly. Since switching from CNN’s Headline News to Fox News Beck has soared up the ratings chart with his 5pm show capturing an average two million viewers, an unprecedented number at that hour. His talk radio show rates third in the country. There have been five best-selling books.

A recovered alcoholic and drug addict he has also cried more than any presenter in memory, often welling up at the thought of what will happen to the United States. "I'm sorry. I just love my country. And I fear for it,” he once wept.

His opposition to “big government” and Obama has seen him adopted by many in the Tea Party movement as their figurehead. There has been talk of a presidential bid, which will do his ratings no harm. "I consider myself a libertarian. I'm a conservative, but every day that goes by I'm fighting for individual rights," explained Beck, who has described his show as a “fusion of enlightenment and entertainment”.

7.Roger Ailes (23)

President, Fox News Channel

When Roger Ailes, a veteran media consultant for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush Snr, heard that his boss Rupert Murdoch was preparing to back Obama for President in a New York Post editorial, he threatened to resign. Murdoch responded by giving him a pay rise (he is said to have earned $23 million last year – more than Murdoch) and endorsing John McCain. As the traditional broadcast networks see their profits and influence decline, Ailes has turned Fox News into a cash cow for News Corporation, trading on the President’s growing unpopularity to make Fox the go-to place for everything anti-Obama. Assessing Fox’s influence, Obama reckoned the “Fox effect” had cost him two or three points in the 2008 election – which means that next time it could well decide who becomes President. Democratic operative James Carville recently said that if Ailes were a Democrat “I think there would be 67 Democratic senators right now”. There are currently 60.

Along with the legendarily combative operative Lee Attwater, Ailes was responsible for Bush Snr’s win over Michael Dukakis in 1988 by helping to portray the then Massachusetts governor as a weak leader lacking in humanity. The presence of so many Fox personalities – including its new signing Sarah Palin - on this list once again is testament to the runaway influence of Fox News, which Ailes started in 1996 as a rival to CNN. Keeps his distance from the Republican party these days, not least because its higher-ups go to him rather than vice versa . Truth be told, he and Fox are bigger than almost all of them.

8. David Petraeus (2)

Head of US Central Command

As commander of the troop surge in Iraq, General Petraeus became one of the most prominent US military officers in recent memory and was closely associated with President George W. Bush. Not only did his demand for extra troops and a switch to counter-insurgency tactics help put a devastated country on the track towards recovery, it helped salvage a chance of historical redemption for Bush.

Now head of all American forces in the Middle East, he has the delicate task of winding down the Iraq war while helping Obama to win in Afghanistan. In both countries he has commanders, General Ray Odierno and General Stanley McChrystal who share his views of counterinsurgency doctrine and have worked closely with him for years.

Centcom covers a vast area with 20 nations that contains most of the world’s current hot spots. Petraeus had twice travelled to Yemen to discuss how the US will support the government’s attempts to combat al-Qaeda’s affiliate there. Very much the soldier-scholar, Petraeus can more than hold his own in political company. Assumed to be a Republican, rumours of a run for office have subsided for the time being but the tone of his comments on Islamist terror, even in the confines of a congressional hearing, suggest that he tilts to the Right.

9. Paul Ryan (-)

Wisconsin congressman

Paul Ryan has it all – including time on his side. He entered Congress at the tender age of 28 and doesn’t turn 40 until this year. A budget hawk, he is now the senior Republican on the House Budget Committee and is holding the Obama administration’s feet to the fire just as he challenged the Bush administration to return to fiscal conservatism. Undoubtedly a future presidential prospect, he hails from a swing state and won re-election in 2008 even though his district went for Obama – an illustration of his powerful crossover appeal. A Catholic and strong social conservative, Ryan is happily married with three children and is a keen bow hunter and fisherman. His website Americanroadmap.org outlines his plans to rewrite the entire federal tax, healthcare and Social Security system.

Increasingly a national figure, he recently endorsed Marco Rubio in the Florida Senate primary, saying that “Marco’s record of conservative leadership offers convincing evidence that he will hold Washington accountable, prevent government from wasting our tax dollars and lead a new generation of Republicans”. Showed he is not afraid to go against his party’s hierarchy. A former Senate aide, he wrote speeches for Jack Kemp, Republican vice-presidential candidate in 1996. He is the fifth generation of his family to live in Janesville, Wisconsin. Used to hold constituency hours in an old truck that he would drive to remote towns and villages. Has a populist touch, recently penning an essay for Forbes entitled Down With Big Business, railing against lobbyists, “crony capitalism” and the “record profits” of rescued banks.

10.Tim Pawlenty (-)

Governor of Minnesota

The runner-up for the vice-presidential slot on the 2008 Republican ticket, he lost out to Sarah Palin then but is viewed by many GOP leaders as the better long-term bet. Has said he will not run for re-election when his term expires this year, meaning he will have more time to spend with his wife and two daughters, as well as the consultants he has quietly locked in for what everyone assumes will be a 2012 presidential bid. A Catholic who converted to become a Protestant evangelical, he is a favourite of Christian conservatives and also comes from a swing state and has the kind of Mid-West appeal that resonates in a national campaign. Although conservative on all the important issues, he advocates a broad church. “We loved Ronald Reagan, but he made some compromises along the way," he said in 2008. “We don't have a big enough party to be throwing people overboard.”

Has visited first-voting Iowa and even contacted supporters of Mitt Romney, the other Republican viewed as a certain 2012 candidate as well as founding his own political action committee, Freedom First. Is already engaged in a carefully-planned programme of criss-crossing the country speaking at conservatives dinners and other events. An increasingly assured cable television performer, he is a frequent critic of Obama, branding him a “movement liberal” who is “projecting potential weakness” on national security.

11. Mitt Romney (10)

Former Governor of Massachusetts

Romney failed to overcome doubts about the genuineness of his principles in 2008 after he transformed himself from a moderate Republican in Massachusetts in favour of abortion rights into a crusading social conservative. Despite his “Matinee Mitt” looks, huge fortune (though slightly less huge since he spent an estimated $50 million in 2008), executive experience and intelligence, Romney had an authenticity problem that he just could not overcome. His fellow Republican candidates seemed to have a visceral dislike of him, though that has abated somewhat, especially in the case of John McCain, whom Romney loyally supported in the general election campaign.

Since losing to McCain, Romney has barely stopped campaigning, taking frequent shots at Obama’s economic and foreign policy and forming the Free and Strong America Political Action Committee. The Republican congressional party has often sought the former CEO’s expertise for ideas on economic policy. It is widely assumed that he will run again in 2012 and if so probably start as the official frontrunner. The question of his Mormon religion – which many evangelicals regard as a semi-Christian cult – will doubtless rear its head again. And Republicans won’t have forgotten that Romney struggled to connect with voters outside the country club set and will be want to make a cold calculation about whether this is an insurmountable flaw.

12. George W. Bush (21)

Former President

In 2007, George W. Bush just missed our Top 20 top conservatives list – a provocative and controversial decision but one that reflected his disastrous poll ratings, the dismay of conservatives at out-of-control spending, the colossal mistakes over Iraq and his failure to consolidate the conservative majority he had won. Aides protested that history would vindicate him and already there are signs that this is happening. The Iraq “surge” of 2007 unquestionably won the war and has helped establish a viable democratic state in the heart of the Middle East. There were terrible errors committed along the way but Bush showed the vision and toughness to change course and commit American blood and treasure when all appeared lost.

Bush’s influence endures also because Obama and his advisers seem scarcely able to do anything without referring to his predecessor. This betrays a shallowness that is beginning to wear thin with American voters. With the recent terrorist attacks, Bush’s relentless focus on Islamist terrorism now looks wise rather than obsessive and he bequeathed Obama one of the most impressive members of the current Cabinet – Bob Gates. Bush’s absence from the limelight and his refusal to criticise Obama even through surrogates is to be commended. So too was his personal insistence that led to the transition between the two administrations being one of the smoothest in American history.

13. John Roberts (8)

Supreme Court Chief Justice

There may be a liberal in the White House, but the Supreme Court has a reliable conservative at its head who is set to shape the parameters of American life for a generation. Aged 50 when he joined in 2005, he was the third youngest man to lead the court and has been a reliable conservative so far. In 2008, the court overturned on a 5-4 vote the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with the Second Amendment of the Constitution. The first major pronouncement on gun rights in the court’s history, it settled the argument over whether or not the controversial amendment applied to individuals. But it ruled that like all rights it was not absolute, essentially allowing states and cities to vary their gun laws on issues such as carrying and concealment.

The court did deal a setback to Bush, ruling that detainees held at Guantanamo Bay have a constitutional right to challenge their detentions in federal court and that congressional legislation has failed to provide a reasonable substitute for such a hearing. On that occasion Roberts was on the losing side as Justice Anthony Kennedy voted with the liberals. The Christian Right’s holy grail of overturning Roe versus Wade and making abortion illegal is not among the chief justice’s plans, but in the next few years detention, torture, free speech and other hot button issues will come before the Roberts court.

14. Haley Barbour (16)

Governor of Mississippi

Head of the Republican Governors Association after Mark Sanford stepped down in June, Barbour is a lawyer, lobbyist, political operative and Republican governor whose influence is huge at this key moment for American conservatism. As chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997 – the period of the “Republican Revolution” when the GOP won the Senate and House for the first time since 1954 – he has led his party back from the wilderness before. Made millions lobbying for the tobacco industry and others before entering electoral politics. Easily re-elected as Mississippi governor in 2007, Barbour is only the second Republican to secure the post since Reconstruction and won the backing of several of the state’s leading Democrats.

During Hurricane Katrina, his performance was compared to that of Rudy Giuliani in New York after the 9/11 attacks as he calmly ordered evacuations, threatened those who would break the law amid the carnage on the Gulf coast and declined to blame Bush or the federal government. As a personable, successful Southern governor with huge experience, he is a potential 2012 candidate but his lobbying background and slightly shambolic air would probably count him out. Recognising this, Barbour instead seems content to be one of the principal advocates for and strategists of another Republican revival. He warned last year, however, that it wouldn’t be easy. “The elections that matter for Republicans are in 2009 and '10. 1993 paved the way for the 1994 congressional election. The 2009 elections in Virginia and New Jersey were a big tick on the box for the GOP and Barbour. He added: “The other thing that's a fact is only once since 1896 has a party won the White House from the other party and only kept it four years. So history favours the Democrats but then again, we're in unprecedented times in many, many ways.”

15. Eric Cantor (-)

Congressman for Virginia

A youthful 46, Cantor is routinely – and accurately - described as a rising star, becoming Minority Whip a year ago after eight years in the House of Representatives. The only Jewish Republican in Congress, he advocates a strong US-Israeli alliance and led a Republican congressional delegation to the Middle East in August to rouse support for Israeli settlements that he felt the White House overlooked.

Although a strong conservative across the board, he aims to help return the Republicans to power by becoming less ideologically focused on social issues and more concerned with economical issues. He believes “60 per cent of America is with us in believing in a Main Street, common-sense conservatism" but that Republicans struggle to connect with voters for reasons of image.

During his first year as Whip showed no qualms about taking on liberal big beasts such as Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank, excoriating them for politicising the first bailout bill. He regularly consults Newt Gingrich for inspiration about how the party can repeat his success of 1994 but it will be up to Cantor and his colleagues to produce eye-catching policy ideas if they really want to capitalise on disenchantment with the Democrats.

16. John McCain (9)

Senator for Arizona

The losing Republican presidential candidate’s concession speech on election night in 2008 was one of his finest moments, a shining example of the dignity, fairness and patriotism that McCain’s supporters adore him for.

Some erratic moments did his campaign no favours, but it was probably always a virtually unwinnable election for Republicans, and the former Vietnam prisoner of war came through with his honour substantially intact, not least because he declined to go strongly negative against Obama and raise issues like his relationship wth the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Plenty of fellow moderate Republicans have privately and publicly questioned the wisdom of picking Sarah Palin as a vice-presidential candidate, but in the end it was perhaps no more than a gamble that didn’t pay off. No one could foresee the phenomenon she became.

The elder statesman remains his own man and one of few Senators whose remarks always command attention. His objections to Obama’s July 2011 to start bringing home troops from Afghanistan had a credibility rooted in his long foreign policy experience and advocacy of the successful surge in Iraq. Recently accused Obama of "leading an extreme Left-wing crusade to bankrupt America”. Obama would have done well to court his former opponent but seems to have missed his chance. McCain will remain in the thick of the legislative action, especially if the Democrats lose their filibuster-proof majority. Now 73, he will not run for President but is on course to be re-elected to another six-year term in the Senate.

17. Mike Pence (19)

Indiana congressman

Any conversation about rising stars within the conservative movement involves Mike Pence. A lawyer, former talk radio host and now the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives has just fuelled rumours of a possible presidential run by hiring national campaign operatives Kellyanne Conway and Bill Neale. Entered Congress in 2001 and has described himself as "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order". As chair of the Republican Study Committee - a conservative congressional caucus - Pence was a crusader for small government, low taxes and the outlawing of abortion. Now he’s even higher profile as chair of the GOP House conference.

Is beloved by the tea party movement, which could yet turn out to be the kingmaker in the Republican party. Although a 2012 presidential bid is possible, a more likely option for Pence might be to run for Governor of Indiana when Mitch Daniels steps down (he is term-limited). Alternatively, with Senator Richard Lugar in his 78th year, Pence would be a natural to replace him. An outspoken defender of conservative radio and television hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, he said in October: “To my friends in the so-called ‘mainstream media’ I say, ‘conservative talk show hosts may not speak for everybody but they speak for more Americans than you do.’” An accomplished communicator, he is at the forefront of rebuilding the Republican brand. “If you can’t communicate, you can’t govern,” he has said.

18. Bob McDonnell (-)

Governor-elect of Virginia

McDonnell’s landslide 17-point victory over opponent Creigh Deeds in the Virginia governor’s race last November stunned Democrats and demonstrated at an early stage that Obama’s party is in for a rough ride in 2010. Virginia took on an almost iconic status for the Obama campaign, voting for their man by a thumping margin over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries. The traditionally conservative state with a strong military presence then chose Mr Obama over McCain.

19. Newt Gingrich (4)

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives

It is a testament to the power of Gingrich’s intellect, personality and penchant for self-promotion that a decade after leaving public office he remains a central conservative figure. Part of this is his interest in ideas rather than just the mechanics of politics. He has remained committed to low tax and small government as well as looking for innovative solutions to social challenges. He was increasingly critical of the Bush administration, eventually branding it a study in “arrogance, isolation and destructiveness” and vigourously opposed Bush’s proposed immigration reform.

Although still a hate figure among Democrats, he has cooperated with the likes of Hillary Clinton on healthcare and Al Sharpton on inner city education and appeared in a television ad alongside Nancy Pelosi to urge action on climate change. None of these alliances across the aisle has endeared him to grassroots Republicans. Neither did his endorsement of GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava in a New York state special House election rather than Doug Hoffman, the Conservative candidate. When Scozzafava pulled out and backed the Democrat, Gingrich was left with egg on his face.

He eventually ruled out a presidential bid in 2008 after conducting a long tease with the media. True to form, he is engaging in the same act for 2012, declaring this week: “"I think I'm probably on a list of seven or eight possible candidates at this stage.” Former aides, however, state that the thrice-married Gingrich knows he could never be president. An omnipresent media commentator, he has been a trenchant critic of the Obama’s national security policy. “We are watching the Obama administration return to the criminal-justice attitudes that failed to keep [the US] safe in the Clinton years,” he said recently.

20. Mike Huckabee (11)

Presidential hopeful

It is widely assumed Huckabee will be among the early declarers for the 2012 Republican primary and if Sarah Palin joins the race they will battle for the evangelical, activist vote, which would test Huckabee’s gracious manners (except when he’s talking about Mitt Romney) and ready wit. Already preparing for the challenge, he told the New Yorker that the main difference between them was "she looks better in stilettos than I do, and she has better hair".

The former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister, and occasional rock musician, swept to a surprise victory in Iowa on the back of evangelical support and finished second to John McCain overall. Next time his fundraising operation should be stronger while he will have a ground operation established in Iowa and South Carolina. But many Republican insiders believe that 2008 was his political high water mark. His 2012 hopes were dealt a blow recently when it emerged that Maurice Clemmons, accused of murdering four police officers in Washington state, had been granted clemency by Huckabee in Arkansas in 2000.

Huckabee, who before 2008 was best known for losing lots of weight and advocating a healthy lifestyle, has kept his profile high after the primary, with a daily commentary on ABC Radio and the Huck Political Action Committee. Perhaps the biggest question mark over his participation is whether or not the former teenage local radio host finds his Saturday show on Fox News too comfortable a gig to leave.

Lists compiled by the Telegraph staff in Washington – Toby Harnden, Alex Spillius, Rachel Ray, Andrea Viola and Meghan Cassin.
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