Why have this list? Because, my friend, peoples tend to stay the same. Even if I tends to forget.

Always

John Breaux ® - seems pretty reasonable and smart. Where did this guy go? And is there some way we could bring him back?
Lindsy Graham (R) - a little bit preachy. A little bit self-righteous. So? I think he stands on his own. In fact, if he doesn’t piss me off in the next 6 months, he may even get bumped up a category. Okay, that’s it. He’s there (here).

Chuck Hagel (R) - an (R) who says that war with Iraq is not inevitable. Wow. Well, it was a noble thought.
Luger (?) - from watching him on T.V. (and now from hearing about his positions), he seems both reasonable and firm. Just like I likes ’em. Good long-range thinker (remarkable for a Senator)
Barak Obama (D) – I hate to be on a bandwagon, but this guy is pretty damn articulate.

Arlan Spectre (R) - May just be an apparition, but seems like he may actually have a brain of his own (apart from the Republican party).

Sometimes

John McCain (R) - if you can separate the message from the pain. // update: he’s started to chafe me a little more lately.
Bruce Bartlett (R) – anti-bush republican. Articulate.

Bill Clinton (D) - I have mixed feelings about this one. And I’m pretty sure he does too.
Tom Coburn (R) – kind of a lunatic, but does seem like a fiscal conservative (or at least that’s what he preaches).

Susan Collins (R) – seems alright.

Newt Gingrich (R) – I gotta tell ya. I used to not like him, but now, the way the R’s have been lately, old Newt would be a fresh of breath air right about now.

Orin Hatch (R) – he may be crazy, but at least he’s funny. So, what kind of a name is Hatch?
Joe Lieberman (D) – pedantic, looks like he’s about to cry. A Jew that hates Hollywood?

Mark Pryor (D) – a right-leaning democrat. Amazing.

Never

Dick Army (R) - Complete asshole.

Joe Biden (D) - Distinguished Senator from looks-like-Gene Hackman-world. I used to think he was reasonable. Now I don’t. Now I just think he is a grandstanding orator who likes to her himself talk, but that there is hardly a grain of logic behind anything he says.

Christopher Bond (R) – opposed McCain anti-torture amendment (2005), which in my mind, doesn’t even seem possible, let alone politically wise.  This guy has to be a complete assrack. And that’s not even counting what his wife told me.

Sam Brownback (R) - too far right (e.g. against embryonic stem cell research, against common sense, etc.)
George W. Bush (R) – so bad it’s sad.

Hillary Clinton (D) – I’m sorry but even though I agree with many of her policy ideas, she really does seem like a calculating, ambitious politician. I just don’t believe in the goodness of her soul. Sorry.

Tom Daschle (D) - Pedantic super-size it.
Tom Delay (R) – does anyone really have any doubts about this assface?

Dick Durnin (D) – does impress me much with his logic.

Dick Gephart (D) - pedantic.

Al Gore (D) - who?

Phil Graham (R) - broken record. I think he’s dead too. I think, like, he went back to Texas and drank too much crude and then exploded, or something.

John Kerry (D) - very preachy, in fact, too preachy. Wow. What a dweeb.

Sheila Jackson Lee (D) - too dumb and corruptible (even for congress). Wow was she ever a dumb one.

Trent Lott (R) - no explanation necessary.

Mitch McConnel (R) – he’s smart. but he’s a beady-eyed little bastard. I don’t trust him.

Harry Reid (D) - too much political rhetoric. too much whining. Awful.
Donald Rumsfeld - may be a complete lunatic, but is genuinely amusing and about as forthright as you could possible expect from a politician. This man will be assassinated. Anyway, that was before Iraq. It’s now 2006 and clearly Rumsfeld is horrible.
Ted Stevens (R) – Alaska à opposed McCain anti-torture amendment to military spending bill (2005), throws temper tantrum on senate floor whenever doesn’t get his way (last time because he tacked on Anwar drilling amendment to military budget bill and tried to bully people into voting for it); total hot-head, can’t stand him

Maxine Waters (D) - Too rhetorical. Broken record. Hasn’t changed a single view since she was thirty-two, hundred years old

Not Sure

Diane Feinstein (D) - Seems confident and sincere when she talks (the way Madeleine Albright sounds). Says the way to reduce N Korean threat is to engage rather than isolate. Against human cloning but for embryonic stem cell research. Someone told me she is not supporting legislation to limit health care costs by reducing medical malpractice lawsuits. That would be bad.

Two words: TERM LIMITS

Bonus Opinions:

Steve Adubato – political analyst with whom I could not agree more. I don’t recall him having a single wrong opinion, at least not that I’ve heard.

Tom Ashbrook – annoying-as-hell NPR commentator. Has a subtle way of being condescending while sounding completely pleasant. Tries to generate discussion by playing devil’s advocate, but is just annoying. I will donate money to NPR the day they announce Mr. Ashbrook’s murder.

John Ashcroft – religious nut and former attorney general.
Shaukat Aziz – PM of Pakistan; one cool-headed dude. I like this PM.

Julie Banderas -- FoxNews broadcaster. Like Shepherd Smith, but minus the charm. I don't like her. I don’t like her one bit.

Deborah Becker – weirdly rude NPR host who is even less subtle than Tom Ashbrook at hiding her personal political views.

Wolf Blitzer – attention-seeking, crazed journalist who typifies CNN’s extreme shallowness.
Contessa Brewer – MSNBC anchor with perhaps the most likeable personality on all of cable news (even more than Anderson). She is great because she has a real sense of irony and humor and is not just another pretty face (see FoxNews).

David Brooks – Wall Street Journal columnist who just flat out rules. The most intelligent, thoughtful and worthwhile person who appears regularly on television today. I am totally not kidding. This guy is perhaps my all-time favorite commenter/journalist/thinker I can think of. Appears every Friday across from Mark Shields on the Jim Lehrer NewsHour. Word.

Aaron Brown – see Bill Hemmer.
Geoffrey Canada – a true hero.

Andrew Card (r) – White House Chief of Staff; prick.

John Carroll – funny, smart guy from Beat The Press (a show airing on Boston’s PBS channel, hosted by Emily Rooney, who is also not bad). I believe he teaches at BU, or is somehow affiliated.

Cici Connely – pleasant journalist.

Anne Coulter – oh my Lord (I just saw her on T.V. for the first time).

Bill Crystal – so smug I could happily crush his head in a forceps. Blow-hard right-wing only a millimeter less obnoxious (more smug) than Sean Hannity. Let him invade Iran all by himself. In fact, I’m sure he would.

Frank DeFord – interesting, amusing, oft’ insightful commentary about sports and society in general. Usually has little 2-3 minute monologues that come on the radio from time to time.

Donnie Deutsch – better than Nancy Grace.

Lou Dobbs – freak.

Sam Donaldson – no longer relevant.
Harris Faulkner – best smile on television.

John Feinstein – sports writer/historian who seems like a pretty good guy (on television interview anyway). Buy his book and tell me if I’m right.

Tom Friedman – intelligent NYT columnist. A bit left-leaning, but it seems to be through honest calculation rather than knee-jerk inclination. And besides, a little hyperbolic and well-articulated common sense never hurt anyone.

Stephen Hadley – could he be the only intelligent person in the entire Bush administration?

Sean Hannity – flag waving right-wing fool; bad human being.
Bill Hemmer – annoying speech pattern. i don’t like his face.
Gwen Iffil – Straight-spoken moderator for the Newshour, Washington Week and makes appearances on ABC’s This Week. Has a common sense approach and does a good job of keeping the discussion/ideas flowing. One of my top picks (e.g. she’s going to go far in the journalism world before her time is done).
Gwen Ifill – I continue to be impressed. Mark my words, she really is going places.

Mark Jurkowitz – see John Carroll

David Kuo – saw the light. My favorite leader from the religious right.

Jim Lehrer – beady-eyed anchor of NewsHour; deep down, holds (secret) contempt for the shallowness of network news media, and that’s enough.

Errol Louis – clear-headed and intelligent journalist.

Barry McCaffrey – retired general. Smart.

John McLaughlin – you gotta love him. You just have to.
Ray McGovern – former CIA analyst; he’s just cool.

Jon Meacham – oh I LOVE this guy. Haven’t read his book(s), but I have never heard anything leave his mouth I didn’t find perfectly reasonable. *****

Dennis Miller – about the not-funniest comedian to host a talk show, since his last talk show that wasn’t funny.  God he is not funny. Was he ever funny?

Kate Michelman – cool headed; pro choice; I like her.

Ron Mincy – incredibly articulate sociologist (curr. at Columbia.edu and auth. Black Males Left Behind). Wow. This guy is great.

Munira Mirza – one of the most articulate people I’ve seen express views on multiculturalism I’ve seen expressed regarding the problem of cultural differences between Muslims and non-Muslims, particularly in Britain. Okay, I’m not going to lie to you. I am in love (with her; my God she is hot.)

Laurence O’Donnell – could have been my hero if he would just slide over a little toward the middle. But I respect a man who can form a sentence.

Keith Olbermann – used to like him, now I’m sick of his one-sided, maniacal ranting.

Bill O’Reilly – making fun of bill o'really is pretty silly since he basically does it for you every time he opens his mouth. yes, he is prejudiced, but that's not the same as being a full-on racist. i actually think he is trying, pathetic and obsolete as it may seem to the rest of us, to overcome his ingrained prejudices. or at least he secretly wants to. yes, he's a bully. yes, he's painful to watch. but he's also entertaining. there is always great suspense with o'reilly, like he might actually concede a point to someone or even let someone finish a thought. one of my guilty pleasures is clinging to the hope that i might bear witness to him showing some sign of movement on a position. i guess i'm a closet redemptionist. hate him all you want, and there are plenty of reasons to do just that, but i'd rather watch him be a complete a-hole than the inane, scripted whatever-it-is that goes on between anderson cooper and erica hill on CNN.

Clarence Page and Ray Rodriguez – both are one-note Johnny’s, but as it happens, both of their notes are necessary. Rodriguez is the more somber (war-worn) of the two.

Dana Priest – columnist for Washington Post. Serious. Compassionate. Noble skepticism at its best. I love her.

Eugene Robinson – columnist for Washington Post. I LOVE this guy. I LOVE his attitude. I LOVE what he says.

Roger Rosenblatt – loves to hear himself talk, and think (out loud). I could be accused of the same, but I bet I’m a better lay.

Carl Rove – total jerk who’s going to Hell faster n’ you can say Dick Cheney.
Tim Russert – non cow-towing anchorman of Meet The Press. Really gives politicians a lot of friction—not as much as a typical British media person does, but enough. TR makes me happy.
Joe Scarborough – he’s alright. Not nearly as funny as he thinks he is. But I’d let him baby sit his kids.

Eleanor Smeal – ass-kicking abortion rights activist. Go abortions!
Shepherd Smith – I love this guy. Clearly the most charming of the cable news anchors. And that includes even that Anderson Cooper.

George Stephanopoulos – not bad.

Meryl Streep – okay. This is about the smartest, wittiest actor I’ve ever heard offscreen (with the possible exception of Woody Allen). I’m not kidding. She is hilarious, self-deprecating, brilliant.
Ray Suarez – good fill-in for Jim Lehrer. Laid-back Mexican who will kill seven in hostage crisis when Jim Lehrer retires and they announce they’re giving the anchor position to Gwen Ifill.

Charles Taylor – philosopher. wonderful view of the world.

Jeff Toobin – smart lawyer/pundit on CNN. He would be okay if he weren’t so incredibly smug it makes we want to kill him.

Ted Turner – almost completely nuts (no, make that completely nuts), but I like him. In spite of his ego, seems like he wants to do a lot of good for the world.

Brian Unger – Unger Report; seems like he’s got it about right.

Armstrong Williams – political analyst and radio show host with whom I often agree. Very open minded and logical. In spite of his great passion.

Ian Wright – the real and one true Globe Trekker.

Fareed Zakaria – regular on This Week; wonderful.

Two words: LIFE SPAN