Is Britain learning?

I feel sorry for the United Kingdom. No, really, I do. Especially the subscribers of The Telegraph after they listed their countdown of The 50 Most Influential US Political Pundits.

8. JON STEWART
The liberal host of the Daily Show on Comedy Central mixes comedy and political satire, but it is his serious moments that have carried him into the realm of punditry. A frequent of critic of George W Bush, he also embarrassed his friend John McCain for speaking at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, having previously denounced the preacher and his ilk as “agents of intolerance." McCain was forced to concede that he was descending into the “crazy base world” of politics.

His show gets more serious as it endures, with guests such as Howard Dean and Harry Reid in the space of a week. A relentless critic of combative pundits, he is widely judged to have humiliated Tucker Carlson, formerly of CNN and MSNBC, and Chris Matthews during on-air jousts.

Colbert comes in at #11.

11. STEPHEN COLBERT
It is often said that Fox’s Bill O’Reilly is the model for Stephen T Colbert, the self-indulgent, bombastic and inaccurate character who chairs the Colbert Report on Comedy Central.

Colbert’s id has been described as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot." Through show’s the phony news and election coverage, his mainly young audience nonetheless feels it is getting the spiritual truth about the campaign.

The Top Ten in order:
10. MARK HALPERIN
9. DAVID BROOKS
8. JON STEWART
7. TIM RUSSERT
6. MATT DRUDGE
5. JOHN HARRIS AND JIM VANDEHEI
4. RUSH LIMBAUGH
3. SEAN HANNITY
2. CHRIS MATTHEWS
1. KARL ROVE

I have to disagree with their pickings of both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert because they are comedians...not political pundits!