Frits Bolkestein
Mark Rutte
George H.W. Bush
Tony Blair
Piet Hein Donner

I have five, from NL, UK and US, and all the others are on the other list. They're all alive, but not all of them active.
I wanted to balance the list with one more person from the left, but this guy made "moral appeals" to all sorts of high earning bankers and is now a high earning banker.

Few people in this world that I hate more than Ashdown...yuck. Benn is indeed a legend.

Anyway -

1 - Barack Obama
2 - Dennis Skinner (speaking of legends)
3 - Alan Grayson (hope he gets back into Congress)
4 - Elizabeth Warren
5 - Sherrod Brown
6 - Nancy Pelosi

Domestic list, in no particular order:

1. Michael Bloomberg (he sucks for some things, but it is impressive how much he gets done)
2. Carl Levin ( I didn't like him very much until I saw him call out Wall St types on their bullshit. He has grown on me since then.)
3. George H.W. Bush (I hated some, if not most, of what he did, but he was a much better politician than I would have expected from his lacking of ability to put together a sentence.)
4. Barack Obama (He is only so-so right now, but considering the awful situation he is constantly stuck with, he does a pretty good job. Again, I am not too happy with his work, but I respect it. Plus, I think he was a bit too naive of what he was getting into when he was running for election. Now he has sobered up and I think he is about to find a stride of greatness)
5. Elizabeth Warren (She is just impressive. I can see her running for president and having a really good shot at it. She could probably get at least as close as Hillary Clinton had gotten after she does a term or two as Senator.)
6. Hillary Clinton (I don't think Obama would do as well internationally without her. In some ways, I see her as a Melisandre-esque individual, for those of you who read Song of Ice and Fire. Not so much the evil sorceress part as the power behind the throne stuff.)

Mitch Daniels-The man is probably the best politician in America today.
Tom Coburn- 2nd best politician to Mitch
Alan Simpson-Simply one of the best.
Henry Kissinger-No one knows China like Henry
Paul Volcker-He never held elective office, but whenever he gives an interview or testifies I stop and listen.
Herman Cain-He knows more about private sector job creation than Obama and all the Republican candidates rolled into one.

@ Putin

Of the people on my list I could imagine you having a grudge against, Ashdown didn't rank too highly. Was it something about the Balkans that put you off him, or something about his LibDeminess?

from an australian point of view...

the Obama-Clinton double act seems to work very well, most impressive Pres & SecState for years.

John Key from New Zealand is doing a good job, as does SBY in Indonesia.

David Cameron seems to be better than expected.

Our current crop of leaders in Oz is woeful. Past PM John Howard was possibly one of our best ever.

Ashdown was effectively the dictator of Bosnia who heavily abused his powers as High Commissioner on behalf of his 'clients'. He did everything he could to turn Bosnia into an Islamist state. He alone is responsible for more problems in today's Bosnia than pretty much any other person. Instead of trying to build a multi-ethnic state, Ashdown's policies have galvanized Muslim extremists and put Bosnia on the path to dissolving the Dayton Accords and centralizing power in the hands of the Izetbegovic's radical successors.

Remember, this list comes from a right leaning centrist...

1. Jimmy Carter - He may be out of office, but the man can get things done and I have great respect for him.
2. Hillary Clinton - Best Sec of State in a long long time.
3. George H.W. Bush - Jr is an idiot, but dad has done some great things and works both sides to get shit done now.

The rest of my list is dead unfortunately...

I forgot Bill Clinton. Another former President who has done great things since leaving office.

The best politicians stay active when they get out of office and work behind the scenes and cross party lines to do stuff for the people, not to get reelected.

Barack Obama, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu

Don't know too much about international politics, so this is gonna be domestic, and in no particular order

1) John Huntsman. This guy is actually intelligent and knows what is good for this country and what isn't. Best in the Republican field for President right now.
2) Bill Clinton - I would go so far as to say he's the best President we've had since in the last 40 years, potentially much, much longer if the Presidential fields don't get better. I'll just group Hillary in here too since I like her.
3) Rudy Guliani - not just for 9/11, but he turned NYC around in so many ways.
4) David Paterson - alright, so for most of his governorship I didn't care for him, but in his last year he was AWESOME. He beated the politics out of all the legislation - got both parties to hate him - but tried his best to take the politics out of policy. Like I said, little was done, but that's just because of the damn political immaturity.
5) Colin Powell - I can't get enough of this guy. If I could have anyone run for President, it would be Colin Powell

Ron Paul
Rand Paul
Jim DeMint
Chris Christie
Nigel Farage
Mike Lee

lol @ Benjamin Netanyahu, ridiculous.

Sargmacher, personal politics aside, Netanyahu has the difficult task of defending the legitimacy of a nation in a world that is more or less opposed to its existence / legitimacy - and he does a pretty damn good job of it.

Also thanks to goldfinger for bringing up Rudy Giuliani, I have no idea how I forgot about him - he certainly belongs on the list, but at the bumping of who, I do not know.

I think this thread has turned dangerously into one for the politicians we most admire so, to return to the original question: which politicians still have the power to make you stop and listen?

Purely on the basis of having a power to make me stop and listen:

1. Silvio Berlusconi - purely for comedy reasons, I would always stop and listen to the things this political leader has to say, or news items relating to him. His ability to speak utter nonsense and create storms in teacups is currently unsurpassed on the world stage.
2. George W. Bush - Please see above. Apart from Berlusconi, which other national leader would give you amazing quotes like "I believe human beings and fish can coexist" or "Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."

3. Aung San Suu Kyi - for completely opposite reasons to the two above, I would always stop and listen to Suu Kyi. Don't be fooled by her gentle voice, it speaks the mind of a truly great and inspirational person. Her struggle for freedom - both personal and in a greater political sense - are such a powerful reminder of everything we take for granted in the west. She has given up so much of her life in the pursuit of the basic right to freedom of conscience in her country, in the face of seemingly insurmountable treatment. She really is amazing and someone worth listening to.

4. Shirley Williams - sage and wise old British left-wing Labourite turned Liberal.

5. Caroline Lucas

6. Christine Lagarde - this is purely superficial but I really like Christine Lagarde's accent/voice and the way she speaks. I could listen to her talk economics all day.

@Nelhybel: "in a world that is more or less opposed to its existence / legitimacy"
We shouldn't derail this thread but that statement is rubbish.

"and he does a pretty damn good job of it." And so is that.

Well, if this is about people who I will stop and listen too, I can go through a laundry list of Republicans.

Haha.

i would have to start with Barack Obama,
and Hillary as SecState is brilliant,
HM the Queen, although technically not a politician, always makes me stop and listen,
Kevin Rudd, our one-time PM and now Foreign Minister and a great one at that,
George Dubya, because any person that has a single digit IQ and still manages to become president of the US just must be listened to. I couldn't laugh at him, i listened mouth agape, in wonderment. Unbelievable!
and i'll finish with Sarah Palin, now she's funny.

This is tough, because I really think we're more bereft of voices worth listening to than at any prior time in my life, but here goes I guess.

Newt Gingrich
Ron Paul
Charles Schumer
Paul Ryan
Scott Walker
John Cornyn

Whew, and that took awhile. I don't necessarily endorse all the views of anybody on the list. I was trying to answer the question narrowly.

John Howard
Tony Abbott
Julia Gillard
Barack Obama
David Cameron

Note, I don't actually like any of these people. I stop and listen to them because I should, being very influential or holding positions of power.

Your opinions are appreciated, Sargmacher, but are disagreed with by this individual.

largeham, Abbott and Gillard? ...What? I don't think a more pathetic PM-Opp. Leader pair has ever existed. I'd like to hear your reasoning.

Anyway, my list:
-John Howard (yes, I'm Australian, yes, I think he's the best PM we ever had.)
-Netanyahu, for the same reasons listed above.
-Ron Paul. Hell, the guy doesn't stop.
-V. Putin, the Chuck Norris of politicians.

That's actually it, not knowing too much about politics abroad. What a pity.

Guiliani? Really?

I must be different because unless I admire and respect a politician, I don't find them compelling enough to "have to listen".

I'm mostly the same, Draug, but if there's somebody smart enough that I disagree with (and maybe disrrespect), then I'll still find it worthwhile to hear another point of view expressed at its best.
Maybe that means that I do respect them in a certain way, but certainly not all.

True, but I don't feel compelled to "stop and listen." I won't necessarily turn them off, but I think of walking by Radio Shack... If my list is saying something on the Shack's TVs, then I'll stop and listen, but if one of the one's I disagree with are on, I keep on truckin'.

abbott and gillard? neither of them have anything of value to say. it's the same old shit every goddamned day. Parliament atm is just a joke.
Can't say i can agree on honest john howard either, although he was damned effective. Paul Keating perhaps for best PM? I heard this wonderful quote the other week: "the problem with Keating was, there weren't enough of him" love it.

Good point Draug.

1) Ron Paul
2) Tom McClintock (former California state legislator now serving in congress)
3) Harry Browne - 1996 and 2000 Libertarian candidate for president (and my first introduction to the ideals of Freedom). Yes, I know he's been dead for a few years. While this is generally an impediment to communication, 1-800-PSYCHIC assures me there are very real means to surmount this difficulty.
4) Peter Schiff - Strong proponent of Austrian economics and former senate candidate from Connecticut who was predicting the current Great Recession from as early as 2004.
5) Jesse Ventura. While he as a bit more showmanly than I would prefer, Ventura rode a *REAL* grassroots political movement on a near-zero budget to a governor's throne to the complete and utter horror of the political establishment, has a fair number of interesting stories about his experience, and deserves to be taken seriously.
6) Ralph Nader. While I occasionally disagree with him, this principled voice of progressivism provides an important perspective that should be heard (there are a few other names I could've placed in this spot as well).

I don't like either Abbott or Gillard. I pretty much despise everyone on that list. The only problem is that one is our current PM and the other is the head of the opposition, which unfortunately puts them in positions of power and influence.

It is sad that the only prominent politician in Australian politics with any sort of sanity/integrity/worth is Malcolm Turnbull, though he is far from perfect.

yeah, Turnbull i can deal with. the man seems to be able to think for himself rather than toe Abbott's line of 'no, no and more no!'

I remember when McLintock and Arnold the Terminator put three measures on the ballot for special elections to try to deal with the exploding influence of public sector unions on the California budget in 2005.

McLintock and Arnold lost and six years later it's obvious that California lost too as unemployment is higher than the national average, business is fleeing the state, and the budget has deficits as bad as Greece.

I wish Tom hadn't gone to Washington as a representative.

The measures tried to rein in teacher tenure,

"I wish Tom hadn't gone to Washington as a representative. "

Unfortunately, McClintock was forced out of Sacramento by term limits. His options were either congress or cashing in as a lobbyist (most Sacto pols, of course, choose the latter). The fact that he made the honorable choice speaks well to his character.

Maybe he will come back home to run for governor after California files for bankruptcy.