Nancy Pelosi, said to be one of the most powerful Speakers of the House, ever. Will have even more power if the Democrats pick up a barrel of new seats.

Laura Bush (and soon either Michelle Obama or Cindy McCain), because First Ladies are ALWAYS more influential than they like to let on.

Tie for three: Oprah and Hillary for their hold on so many women’s hearts and minds. (Oprah: One million votes! Go girl; Hillary: Many more millions!)

1. Oprah Winfrey because she already demonstrates her power all over the world as an advocate for women’s issues, the most prominent black woman of her time, one of the wealthiest and most influential in matters of health, culture and philanthropy. She whomped up one million new voters for Barack Obama. She has spearheaded charities in South Africa. When she talks, people listen. She is universally popular as well, a real crossover between blacks and whites.

2. Condoleezza Rice because she is the U.S. Secretary of State. She is much more powerful and prestigious these days because the Bush administration has superseded the neo-cons like Cheney and company with Condoleezza having more visibility and diplomatic clout than any other female on the globe. The position may be tenuous and could end with the end of the Bush administration. But for the moment and with Russia growling at Europe, she is really quite indispensable.

3. Don’t laugh — Angelina Jolie. As reformed weirdo sex object, she is now a big player in international philanthropy as it regards saving and improving the lives of children. She is living her lessons influencing young people. And she and her husband are giving away money hand over fist. Although she may be a movie star, she is a successful one in a business where there are very few of her ilk anymore. She is becoming a role model for the large worldwide group of indulgers in pop culture and she is deadly serious. She is also one of the most beautiful women in the world and she has an influence that is larger even than she thinks it is. She is oddly, also, humble about her place in the universe. She, of all the stars in movies, doesn’t even have a press agent.

Click here on this text to read my New York Post column.

To begin with, there are not three most powerful women in the world as there are not three most powerful men in the world. You can choose your favorite three most powerful women from among the group which has probably never been calculated. Also, I think there is a big difference between being successful, influential, important, iconic — and powerful.

Powerful women are changing people’s lives in ways that people do not control. Many women change people’s ideas but few women change their lives in ways they may not know anything about and certainly can’t stop.

Queen Elizabeth, Hillary in 2008, Oprah, Nancy Pelosi, Patricia Russo, Irene Rosenfeld, Indra Nooyi are very impressive women. I am impressed with all the women suggested so far. And it is fun to read about them. But they do not have true power over many people’s lives. They have power over their businesses and one aspect of politics or another and they may impact our ideas and styles but they are not in positions to change our lives without our even knowing it or having any control. There are a number of women who are powerful in that sense — whether I am impressed by them or not — so I am just pulling three out of a hat.

Condoleezza Rice has power every day — in some ways she is the president of the United States and makes decisions in far-flung places that Mr. Bush does not know about until months later. In that position, with a country as powerful as the United States, she controls our lives.

Ruth Ginsberg, as a liberal thinker on America’s Supreme Court, affects the balance and the direction the country takes and, as a result, the reactions and directions other countries take. That is power in my view. I just have to add one suggested by a friend: the Virgin Mary. Of all symbolic women figures, she is alive and powerful to vast groups of people and to men as well as women. Throughout the world, people believe she can change lives and change the world and they react accordingly. As a force in the world she is very powerful and very real whether we like it or not.

1. Mother Nature. The mighty forces of civilization have not been able to tame her, so now we are trying flattery. That isn’t working, either. We keep declaring that we are on her side, that we only want to protect her, and that we believe that everything natural is good — and then she slaps us with a hurricane, an earthquake, an epidemic, a tornado, a flood or a famine.

2. Aphrodite. There appears to be no end to the number of times she can demonstrate her ability to destroy a powerful man in an instant.

3. Calliope, Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia and Urania. Whatever else is happening, one or another of the Muses is able to inspire, excite and console us.

Condoleezza Rice: Unflappable. Representing a disgraced and unpopular incumbent, she stumbles fearlessly into different worlds of suited men. Who knows what music she will play when she throws off her chains.

Nancy Pelosi: Remaining a "lady," has the power and balls to make politics work for the people. She takes rebuffs like a great heavyweight and goes on punching for the betterment of the populace.

Ruth Bader Ginsberg: Is the intellectual liberal thinker on a sharply divided Supreme Court and the only one to stand up to Scalia’s arguments on the conservative side. As such she affects the balance of the Supreme Court and the country. May she live long.

Hillary Clinton because she has shown that nothing is going to stop her from becoming the president of the most powerful nation in the world.

Queen Elizabeth because she can turn anyone into a puddle when she is not amused.

Dame Edna Everage because she could render whole nations helpless with laughter.

The world is a big place and I’m always uncomfortable picking out three of anything, much less powerful women. In my own world, which is currently – geographically, at least – New Orleans, it has been women, not surprisingly, who have led the city’s recovery at the grassroots level. Even here there are far more than three to pick out, but I’ll try. There’s LaToya Cantrell, who almost singlehandedly brought about the rebuilding of her neighborhood, the flooded, mixed-race Broadmoor area – and this was long before the first federal or state dollar started to roll in – thus demonstrating the grit and unflagging energy and determination that influenced dozens of neighborhood leaders like her. There’s Anne Milling, who responded to members of Congress like Denny Hastert, who questioned whether the city should be rebuilt at all, by forming Women of the Storm, to lobby senators and representatives, organizing their trips to New Orleans and ultimately having significant impact in getting a reluctant Congress to appropriate billions to rebuild homes and businesses. There’s Ruthie Frierson, who founded Citizens for One Greater New Orleans, because she realized that if we didn’t carry out reforms at the local and state level, we would have a hard time getting federal relief – or anybody – to take us seriously ever again. Her group has had enormous success, including the reform of our Byzantine system of levee boards, which contributed to the levee failures.

These women operate in the mode of my own mother, Judy Reed, who is arguably the most powerful person – or at least the most powerful force for good – in my hometown of Greenville, MS. There are women like this in every community in our country, thank God. On a far wider stage, no one is more powerful than Melinda Gates.

I would also put Wendy Kopp, founder of Teach for America on any list. She had the power of a great idea to address a serious need in our country. She founded her organization 18 years ago and now there are 3,700 Teach for America teachers around the country, but her impact in terms of encouraging the formation of other groups like hers, and inspiring people to think outside the box when addressing our education ills, has been enormous. It has also helped generations of young people learn to engage in philanthropy, something larger than them.

Aside from being one of my very favorite novelists, Joan Didion, with those brilliant essays in Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album and changed Journalism As We Know It at least as much as Tom Wolfe.

I prefer to list the three most influential women, not the three most powerful; although, you could say anyone with extraordinary influence does, ipso facto, have a great deal of power. So, OK, here goes.

1. Oprah Winfrey is so influential in so many ways that I don’t even have to list the ways she has influence because we all know the ways and, most likely, have fallen under her influence. To me, "The Oprah Factor" is not a perforative term; it is a force for good. I hope it won’t sound facetious to say that Oprah has given higher consciousness to millions of middlebrows throughout the world (I am one of those middlebrows, by the way). It does sound facetious but I actually think this is a remarkable accomplishment and valuable to our evolution.

2. Ruth Bader Ginsberg. To think of the Supreme Court without her fills many Americans with a sense of loss — a measurement of her importance and, in my view, an acknowledgement of her brilliant and balanced wisdom.

3. Hillary Clinton. Yes, Hillary, despite the media mugging she has endured. A year ago, I might have said Nancy Pelosi but I feel she is a shadow of her former self; although, she may not be entirely to blame. So many have mentioned Condoleezza Rice, and a case could be made, of course; although, I tend to think of Bush and Rice as codependents and treadmill buddies. Can she be this powerful when joined at the hip to a hopelessly weak and flawed George Bush? 

I also like Liz Smith’s offbeat suggestion of Angelina Jolie. Liz said it all as to why she qualifies and I agree with Mary Wells about Indra Nooyi. And there’s Angela Merkel. Christiane Amanpour: Her mind-opening documentaries are seen throughout the world. J.K. Rowling who has influenced the minds of millions of young people with the Harry Potter books. Melinda French Gates as cofounder of the Gates Foundation, dedicated to bringing innovations in health and learning to the global community. Maybe it seems self-serving as a card-carrying wOwer, but I think we have many important and influential women right in our midst: Sheila Nevins (talk about documentaries); Liz Smith (talk about diversity); Mary Wells; Joni Evans; Lesley Stahl; Peggy Noonan; Marlo Thomas and St. Jude; Joan Ganz Cooney (talk about influencing the minds of millions of kids). Christiane Amanpour

By Presence:

1. Ellen DeGeneres, because she has been a deep, life-changing influence on millions of people — the first openly gay performer with a hugely successful talk show and, now, chosen most popular television personality over No. 2 — Oprah! How deep is the influence when so many so affectionately have accepted Ellen, first, as a human? A talented, funny, lovable one — but a human.

By Commitment:

2. Oprah and Angelina (thanks, Liz) because they’ve used their fame and money to make such a huge difference. They’ve both raised consciousness around the world. They’ve each proven by personal commitment just how much one person can make a difference.

By Fearless Determination and Belief in Self:

3. Hillary, in spite of relentless, hateful attack and ridicule, gleefully counted down again and again, Hillary rallied against all of it to inspire 18 million Americans to vote for her, to believe in her candidacy and to sustain a long-term loyalty that, one day, will likely put her in the White House as the first woman president … I say all this even though I look squint-eyed at all politicians. But some, I believe, are way better than others and how much better depends on us. Condoleezza Rice, not! I can’t go there. I don’t know how anyone in the Bush Administration can be redeemed after actively being a part of misleading our great country and running it into the ground. Speaking above of one person making a difference: It will take millions of people to undo the harm that’s been done by this one president.