Some of our friends across the pond have compiled a list of who they believe to be the most influential political pundits in the colonies states. Several of our D.C. colleagues did quite well. Chris Matthews came at number two, just behind Karl Rove. John Harris and Jim VandeHei came in at number five, sandwiched between Matt Drudge and Rush Limbaugh. Tim Russert also cracked the Top 10, beating out Jon Stewart. Time's Mark Halperin rounded out the Top 10, just behind the NYT's David Brooks.

Other notable D.C. journos on the list included Chuck Todd at 14, Joe Klein at 20, Mike Allen at 23, Juan Williams and William Kristol respectively at 31 and 32, Posties Howard Kurtz and Eugene Robinson respectively at 34 and 37, Tony Snow at 40, and Fred Barnes at 45.

Tonight's Democratic presidential candidate debate is the first major event for Chuck Todd, NBC's new political director.

Todd started in March. He came to NBC from The Hotline.

It's also a big day for Lauren Vicary, MSNBC.com's new politics editor, who came to the site from the AP last month...

Sen. John Kerry stopped by C-SPAN Monday to participate in their Educational Partnership Program. He was asked about his views on the media:

Q How do you feel about the media today? Do you believe its integrity has declined over the years, do you believe there to be a media bias? Do you feel the public are getting the most accurate picture there is to get?

Sen. Kerry: I don't believe the American public is always getting the most accurate picture. I think there are very courageous news people, I think there are wonderful individual shows... and there are people that I have great respect for in the industry. But I think by and large individual reporters have been forced into a position by the conglomeratization of the media and by the corporatization of the media where there's less leeway, less independence, less time on the air and less ability to do in-depth reporting and take things on. So I think that there’s been a reluctance in fact by the fourth estate to do what it used to do, which is kind of muckrake, accountability, truth telling which is so essential to our politics. I think part of that has been the corporatization and conglomeratization that’s done that.

What's really interesting and you all are taking part in this, I mean it's a wonderful thing still expanding and still being defined and that is the Internet and blogging and other forms of communication are doing. I think that it's actually winding up making the media suddenly more accountable and more responsive /c people see these alternatives. And readership of newspapers is going down. So newspapers are now scrambling to find out sort of, what are the portals going to be through which they're going to reach people with information So there is revolution taking place a little bit even though as I criticize the fact that I think there’s been a little bit of a lack of accountability.

A reader passes on this AP alert:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans pick the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul for the 2008 presidential convention, GOP sources say.

From Drudge:

"When Richard Armitage finally acknowledged last week he was my source three years ago in revealing Valerie Plame Wilson as a CIA employee, the former deputy secretary of state's interviews obscured what he really did," Bob Novak claims in a column set for Thursday release."

More here...

Being a Presidential campaign correspondent in '08 won't be quite the same. Democrats are considering adding another caucus state, in between the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. And in between those two ice-box states, candidates (and the reporters who cover them) will be headed some place warm - like Nevada or Arizona. And right after New Hampshire, a southern state like South Carolina. Ryan Lizza of The New Republic offers a non-partisan suggestion: Hawaii.

Now we'll be dreaming dreams of our favorite campaign trail reporters, rubbing sunscreen on one another. Mmmmmmm...