Arianna Huffington, formerly a Republican, credits her shift in political views to colleagues Al Franken and Robert Scheer. Before her change in affiliation, she worked as a commentator on the program "Face the Music." She began the "Shadow Conventions," privately-funded alternatives to the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, in 2000.

Since then, Huffington has served as a writer for "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher," become the head of the Detroit Project to lessen American dependence on foreign oil, and spoken at various Democratic conventions around the United States. She now has a significant presence in several media, including her public radio show "Left, Right, & Center" and her Web site, The Huffington Post.