19. Peter King

It has probably been a strange year for Peter King: Before the 2007 elections, King was riding a massive wave of power through Washington. But once the Dems took the House of Representatives, it became a little unclear as to who had the real muscle down in D.C. King, though, continues to be a talk show mainstay, and has remained true to his issues. This year, he announced he would join with Sen. John Kerry and political talk show host Bill O’Reilly to ensure better care for returning Middle East veterans. Last week, King scored big points when he was one of the first to publicly call for former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer to resign after the sex scandal that destroyed Spitzer’s career got out. With Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton killing each other and Sen. John McCain the clear front-runner for the GOP, maybe King will have his day at the top again soon. Either way, at least King continues to use his position wisely.