Time Magazine's new issue lists
America's 10 Best Senators
Mastering a powerful institution that relies on comity but requires confrontation takes a special kind of talent.
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They say the Senate is the world's most exclusive club. But the real élite is made up not of those who break in but of those who make a difference once they get there. Here are 10 who do.
Hold your applause (or put down that rotten fruit) until after the flip.
BEST: ARLEN SPECTER
The Contrarian
Plenty of people succeed in politics by being everyone's friend. It takes a special talent to make it as a guy whom allies call "abrasive," "brutal" and "prosecutorial." Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is known for being blunt, not sparing even members of his own party.
BEST: JOHN MCCAIN
The Mainstreamer
No matter what happens in '08, says scholar Norman Ornstein, McCain will be remembered as "one of the few people who can have great impact in the Senate."
BEST: DICK DURBIN
The Debater
Even though the Senate is occasionally called the World's Greatest Deliberative Body, actual debate on the Senate floor rarely happens: members just read prepared speeches written by aides and then return to their offices. Then there's Dick Durbin.
BEST: RICHARD LUGAR
The Wise Man
"He is a quiet, intelligent, steady force," says former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey, Lugar's former colleague.
BEST: CARL LEVIN
The Bird-Dogger
the Michigan Democrat has gained respect from both parties for his attention to detail and deep knowledge of policy, especially in his role as a vigilant monitor of businesses and federal agencies.
BEST: JON KYL
The Operator
He has succeeded by mastering a tactic that is crucial in a body in which any one member can bring the place to a halt as a ploy or out of pique: subterfuge.
BEST: TED KENNEDY
The Dealmaker
Over 43 years in the Senate, democrat Ted Kennedy has fought serial battles on behalf of the working class--from defending overtime pay and workplace-safety regulations to expanding health care and penalizing discrimination. But the key to his legacy is not that he is determined to stick up for his principles. It's that he is willing to compromise on them.
BEST: OLYMPIA J. SNOWE
The Provider
Because of her centrist views and eagerness to get beyond partisan point scoring, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe is in the center of every policy debate in Washington.
BEST: KENT CONRAD
The Statistician
Over 20 years, Conrad, the ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee, has made himself the king of that most important part of the Senate's business--raising and spending the taxpayers' money.
BEST: THAD COCHRAN
The Persuader
Cochran has gained the trust of the Administration and Capitol Hill for his quiet, courtly manner that is evident whether he is playing the piano in his office or using his experience and mastery of the issues to persuade his colleagues privately rather than make demands on them in public.