Karl Rove

Rahm Emanuel (D)

Former White House Chief of Staff

Chicago Mayor-Elect


In between his stints at the White House, Emanuel amassed a reputation as a shrewd party operative, millionaire investment banker and congressional leader.

Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

House Minority Leader, 112th Congress


With her election as minority leader, Pelosi became the first House speaker to step into the minority leader slot since Joseph Martin (R-Mass.) in 1955.

David Axelrod

Senior Obama adviser

Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)

U.S. Representative


Schakowsky’s suburban Chicago district is one of the most liberal in the country and she’s one of the most liberal members of Congress. She’s pledged to be an influential voice in some of this Congress’ key debates, including the fight to reform the nation’s health care system.

Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.)

U.S. Senator


"Dick" Durbin is the second most powerful Senate Democrat, but he could easily be described as his party’s unofficial spokesman.

Martin O'Malley (D)

Governor of Maryland

Chair of the Democratic Governors Association


BusinessWeek hailed him in 2005 as a “new star” in the Democratic Party

http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Martin_O'Malley

Arne Duncan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education

NGA Chair Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire

NGA was founded in 1908 after governors met with President
Theodore Roosevelt to discuss conservation issues. Governors
decided to form an association through which they could
come together to discuss mutual concerns and act collectively.

Governors from across the country are gathering in the nation's capital this weekend for the National Governors Association annual winter meeting. The three-day agenda includes discussions on issues facing states, including job creation and providing education that prepares workers to compete in a global market.

"Seventeen states—all but two headed by Republicans—are suing to block Obama’s effort to regulate carbon emissions. GOP governors led the drive to resume offshore drilling after Obama suspended it following last year’s BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico. From the other direction, the president did his part to heighten tensions by suing Arizona over its immigration law and conspicuously siding with public-employee unions in their struggle with GOP governors (the most notable so far led by Wisconsin’s Scott Walker) over collective-bargaining rights."