[x]

Also in Hillary’s immediate circle is a pizza joint owner named James Alefantis. Alefantis has been named one of the 50 most powerful people in Washington, DC. Let that sink in for a second. This is not some aging former senator who opened a pizza joint as a retirement gig, or a mega-lobbyist who plays restauranteur on the side to fulfill some childhood fantasy. This guy is just the owner of a pizza joint, that’s it. And somehow he has leveraged the position to become one of the most powerful players in a city containing perhaps the highest concentration of influence anywhere on earth.

That's where you lose me. You can't take those "50 Most Powerful People in Washington" articles in city magazines seriously.

There are about 43 politicians, political appointees, lobbyists, campaign consultants, and columnists, and they pad out the article with restaurateurs, party planners, baseball players, bookstore owners, weathermen.

Nobody seriously thinks a weather forecaster or a pitcher for the Washington Nationals or a pizza joint owner is really a power player in the city.

[Golden Eagle]

Nobody seriously thinks a weather forecaster or a pitcher for the Washington Nationals or a pizza joint owner is really a power player in the city.

Maybe not, but according to sources who have reviewed the White House access logs, the owner of Comet Pizza has more visits recorded there than (former) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The fact he made the list at all means that he's in inner circles, which is a interesting considering he's not ever on television like the other examples you named.