SPECIAL REPORT
THE POWER 100 Who’s really running Washington (and the world)
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nowledge is power. Influence is power. Access is power. The perception of this attribute is even quite powerful. It is the currency for those with an enhanced ability to manifest, motivate, listen and influence decisions. In this, Washington Life’s 7th annual Power Issue, we look at the many faces of power and its impact on the country. The major arc of this year’s Power 100 includes 80 political players — some of whom are enjoying the fruits of unlimited fundraising activities — while the remaining 20 are equal opportunity non-partisans and standout business leaders. As in past years, we continue the tradition of eliminating anyone drawing a government paycheck (as this is not intended to be a government directory), and we never assume that wealth necessarily begets power, as it ultimately depends on how one uses it. Those who wield the “power of the pen” with considerable influence include syndicated columnist George Will, Politico’s Mike Allen, The Wall Street Journal’s Gerald Sieb, AOL Huffington Post Media Group’s Arianna Huffington and Howard Fineman, The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein and CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. This is undeniably a “political year” — a point driven home by the appearance of more high-impact political players on this year’s list than usual. Notable on the right are Republicanled “Super PACs” such as American Crossroads, led by Karl
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Rove, Steven Law and Carl Forti, which currently has a 10-to1 money advantage over its Democratic rival Priorities USA Action headed by Bill Burton. Other new additions on the right include Prime Policy Group’s Charlie Black, Republican Jewish Coalition’s Mark Isakowitz, the Chamber of Commerce’s Scott Reed, attorney Paul Clement, Ogilvy’s Drew Maloney and messaging maven Russ Schriefer. New additions on the left include David Axelrod, the Obama campaign’s Jim Messina and Julianna Smoot. These individuals have the knowhow, savvy and connections to stock election arsenals and ultimately influence the outcome. The persistent need for jobs and stability has brought some relatively unknown figures from outside Washington’s traditional political landscape onto the forefront of the new power map. Two of these dynamic figures — the International Monetary Fund’s Christine Lagarde and the World Bank’s Jim Yong Kim — will have their mettle tested as they steer the reshaping of the global economy. Other new additions to this year’s list include Brookings’ Martin Indyk, Johns Hopkins’ Vali Nasr, Friends of the Earth’s Erich Pica, MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, American Action Forum’s Douglas Holtz Eakin, Facebook’s Marne Levine and Joel Kaplan, SAIC’s John Jumper, Demos’ Heather McGhee, Hilton’s Christopher Nassetta, Center for American Progress’ Neera Tanden, J Street’s Jeremy BenAmi, Google’s Susan Molinari, Vital Voices’ Alyse Nelson and National Council of La Raza’s Janet Murguía, among others. These individuals show the depth and breadth of power in Washington and beyond. Read on for the full list.
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