The Top 10 Good Men in Politics of 2010: Breaking Down the List

What do Bernie Sanders, Jeff Flake, Mitch Daniels, Cory Booker, and Al Franken have in common? This is not much of a hint, but that list is comprised, in order, of the following: the only Socialist in Congress, a Tea Party-minded Arizona Republican also in the House of Representatives, the can-do Republican governor from Indiana, the reform-minded African-American mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and a formerly foul-mouthed liberal Hollywood comedian-turned-politician who now sits in the U.S. Senate representing a state where the highest compliment is to say that they are truly "Minnesota nice."

Here's the answer: Those gents, along with five other male politicians, were named by The Good Men Project, a new online men's magazine, as the Top 10 Good Politicians of 2010. "In list-making, as in politics, you can't make everyone happy, so we had to exclude some worthy men from our Top-10 Good Politicians list -- believe it or not, there are more than 10 good men in politics," the editors wrote. "We also excluded many worthy women -- we are the Good Men Project, after all."

"While we don't expect our list to restore your faith in America's political system, we do hope to bring your attention to elected officials worth respecting for their integrity, their passion and their ideas," the editors added. "As our political landscape grows ever more polarized -- and ordinary Americans feel increasingly alienated from the political process -- the conventional wisdom seems to be that when it comes to elected officials, a good man is hard to find. As legendary humorist Kin Hubbard once put it, 'We'd all love to vote for the best man, but he's never a candidate."

The proprietors of the Good Men Project Magazine beg to disagree -- and they placed two of Kin Hubbard's fellow Hoosiers on their list to bolster their case. Citing a "need" to believe that there are still good men in public life, they spent months looking for them. Their list is bipartisan, and has its share of surprises. The criteria cited by the magazine in its accompanying article included integrity, intellectual honesty, respect for their political opponents – as well as their constituents – a belief in open government and a willingness to work in a bipartisan fashion. At a premium were men with compelling ideas, along with the political skill to help advance those ideas.

Here is the full list:

1. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan
2. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin
3. Mayor Cory Booker, Newark Democrat
4. Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, R-Louisiana
5. Sen. Al Franken. D-Minnesota
6. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona
7. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana
8. Rep. Mark Strama, D-Tex.
9. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont
10. Gov. Mitch Daniels, Indiana Republican

Working our way up the list, the fiscally prudent Mitch Daniels -- a former White House budget director who is sometimes mentioned as future GOP presidential material -- was cited for his sheer competence in cutting a huge state budget deficit in Indiana, and for doing so humanely and without stirring up much animosity among Democrats -- his job approval rating tops 70 percent.

Bernie Sanders was lauded for an independent streak that makes him "one of the most refreshingly atypical politicians in recent American history." As if to bolster the magazine's judgment, in his interview with the magazine, when Sanders was asked to name a politician from the other side of the aisle (Sanders caucuses with the Democrats) whom he respects for integrity and dedication to his ideas, the Vermont socialist instantly named Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul, with whom he clashed -- and collaborated when he served in the House.

Likewise, one of the testimonials for conservative Jeff Flake was President George W. Bush's complaint that Flake was just "too dang independent." His colleagues know this all too well. At the end of budget debates, Flake sometimes invites sponsors of congressional pork to explain their "earmark" spending bill to their colleagues -- and, well -- to the American people watching on CSPAN. He famously dismissed a $250,000 earmark for weed management in Nevada, by quipping that the state should instead "get a goat." He's earned the enmity of some of his colleagues, but also the "Taxpayer Superhero" award from the Citizens Against Government Waste.

So clearly a strong ideology isn't a drawback for this list, although a willingness to compromise is key. Thus Paul Ryan, author of the GOP's "roadmap" to a balanced budget, makes it not so much for the contents of his plan, but for his willingness to be specific, which takes political courage these days, and for his openness to listen to others.

The most surprising name on the list, at least to conservatives, might be that of Al Franken. Known before running for office for his caustic wit, hyper-partisanship, and penchant for calling those with whom he disagreed "liars," Franken was narrowly elected to the Senate in 2008, and earned respect for being a hard worker, and a senator who reaches out to Southern conservatives on veterans' issues, and someone willing to hear out the grievances of Tea Party activists in Minnesota.

At a town hall meeting on health care the first summer he was a senator, Franken calmed an angry crowd mostly by just being willing to listen. "I thank you for your passion," he told them.

Franken was not one of the seven "good guys" who consented to answer questions via e-mail with the magazine (But, the editors wrote, "we're trying hard to forgive him.)

"Do we endorse everything they stand for? No. But we can respect those we disagree with," the editors wrote. "We looked for men who can see beyond the next election cycle and who have the political courage to lay the foundation for America's future success -- even if it means making unpopular decisions today."