Time Magazine has selected what they believe to be the 10 Best and 5 Worst members of the U.S. Senate.

The Top 10
* Thad Cochran
* Kent Conrad
* Dick Durbin
* Ted Kennedy
* Jon Kyl
* Carl Levin
* Richard Lugar
* John McCain
* Olympia J. Snowe
* Arlen Specter

Bottom 5
* Daniel Akaka
* Wayne Allard
* Jim Bunning
* Conrad Burns
* Mark Dayton

I have to admit, when I saw a few of those names, I went "Wow, really?". But after reviewing the cases they present, I saw some pretty persuasive points.

I realize a topic like this can open up a wide range of ad hominem chances (Kennedy in particular). But I also think this is a good chance to perform a job review on some of the members of the US Senate. So lets try and keep the comments above the belt and actually review their performance, please And if you have some particular information about your Senator(s) that is germane, please feel free to share.

Questions for Debate:
1) Which of the top 10 (or bottom 5) do you agree with most (if any)? Why?

2) Which do you disagree with most? Why?

3) Are there any names you'd like to see added to either the top or bottom? Please provide your reasons for addition.

The Top 10
* Thad Cochran
* Kent Conrad
* Dick Durbin
* Ted Kennedy
* Jon Kyl
* Carl Levin
* Richard Lugar
* John McCain
* Olympia J. Snowe
* Arlen Specter

Bottom 5
* Daniel Akaka
* Wayne Allard
* Jim Bunning
* Conrad Burns
* Mark Dayton

-----------

I would take Dick Durbin and Ted Kennedy off the list and replace them with George Allen JR and Obama (I forgot how to spell his first name) I would also like to see Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham on the list.

I do not know who the bottom 5 are with the exception of Bunning. I have heard the names but could not tell you what state of party they other 4 are from.

My bottom 5 would be

*Ted Kennedy
*Dick Durbin
*Rick Santorum
*Harry Ried
*Russ Fiengold

I try to be fair and list 1/2 and 1/2 by party but as usual, I tend to view the opposition party members as bad as they will say anything to try to damage the president, even if they have to undermined the nation in the process. If you asked me to list the 5 worst members of the house in 1998, it would have been ALL republicans.

I did notice a slight bias in the top 10. It seems that the only republicans listed in the top 10 were moderate to liberal. While the Democrats tended to be a bit further to the left than they were to the middle. Sometimes even the authors lists have a bias they do not even know about. I am sure I do too. After all, I could only post one Republican in my 10 worst list, and I the 2 Democrats I named for being left out of the top 10 list are alot closer to the middle than they are to the Left.

Harry Ried was only mentioned as he seems like a wimp. Republicans must like him alot, he can swing the swing voters into the republican camp, and the far left voters probably see the green party as great option after listening to Reid.

One last point, I would like to recognise Dick Lugar as the only person to run for president (back in 1996) in pre 9/11 times to make Inteligence spending a priority as he did in the Republican Debates. No one else did. Proper Inteligence could have prevented alot of problems. No one ever gives him credit for that. His lack of Charisma is what kept people from voting for him.

From a strictly non-idealogical viewpoint- i would say the list is dead on. You are talking "EFFECTIVE" senators, not neccesarily what they stand for. Like LBJ being the most effective of all Presidents- though you may disagree if his effectiveness is a good thing.

On the side of only the ability to do the job- whether you like the job he does or not, I would say those on the lists are pretty darn accurate.

I would surely drop Kennedy and Durbin. Kennedy most of all is IMO a hypocrite and betrays his “base”. He claims to be for the “little guy” but he consistently votes with his Union (financial) supporters esp. the Teachers Unions. He favors the illegal aliens that take working class folks jobs and lowers their pay. I would put Teddy boy on the lower list.

I like McCain and many of the others on the top list.

They are alphabetical....

CONSPIRACY!

I would've liked for the inclusion of my own senator, Ben Nelson. He was a member of the "gang of 14" that paved the way for the Roberts nomination and that got the legislative branch to keep working when the leaders would've had everything stop to a standstill. He's voted along the lines the president wanted 80%+ of the time, so he is a maverick and isn't afraid to buck the party when he wants to. He is also one of the most popular senators at the present time.