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