Roger Ailes, GOP Mastermind

Ailes became the go-to man on the Bush campaign, especially when it came to taking down the opposition. "In any campaign you have a small table of inside advisers," says Mary Matalin, the GOP consultant. "Roger always had the clearest vision. The most robust, synthesized, advanced thinking on things political. When you came to a strategy impasse, he’d be the first among equals. I can’t remember a single incident where he lost a fight."

Read: How Roger Ailes Built the Fox News Fear Factory