Sarah Palin
For all the talk of a conservative revival this election year, the movement in 2010 has lacked a true leader — a personality big and bold enough to rally the disparate wings of the Republican Party under one flag. Sarah Palin thinks she can fill that role, but she won't get it without a fight. Maternal chieftain of the Mama Grizzlies, the former Alaska governor spent the past year playing queenmaker in a bevy of midterm races, not to mention working on her next blockbuster book and a reality show for TLC. With the power to electrify the base, cow the Establishment, incense the opposition and razz the "lamestream media" with a single tweet, Palin stands alone atop the modern GOP as its most dynamic and divisive figure. And though she continues to play coy about her 2012 intentions, there are many indications that she aspires to put her mojo to use in the next presidential race.