Without question, the American Enterprise Institute is one of the most influential think tanks in D.C. The joke is that AEI’s building in downtown Washington houses more conservative intellectuals than most European nations. Every year AEI hosts a black-tie annual dinner — referred to colloquially as “the conservative prom” — where they bestow an award on a leading conservative statesman or intellectual who delivers the evening’s keynote address. Guess who’s headlining the dinner in 2010:
General David H. Petraeus to Receive 2010 Irving Kristol Award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 19, 2009
AEI President Arthur Brooks announced today that General David H. Petraeus will be presented with the 2010 Irving Kristol Award. General Petraeus, who commands the United States Central Command, will deliver the Kristol lecture on Thursday, May 6, 2010.
The yearly award is presented at the Institute’s annual dinner to an individual, selected by the AEI Council of Academic Advisers, who has made exceptional intellectual or practical contributions to improved government policy, social welfare, or political understanding.
This could mean nothing, but it could also be a signal Petraeus does have political ambitions. If he does, I’m going to go ahead and guess he won’t be running as a Democrat.
