12.31.2008

America's most admired


The annual USA Today/Gallup poll, revealing who Americans most admire in today’s world, has its usual surprises.

MOST ADMIRED MEN

1 - Barack Obama – 32 percent
2 - George W. Bush – 5 percent
3 - John McCain - 3 percent
4 - Pope Benedict XVI, Rev. Billy Graham, Bill Clinton and Colin Powell - 2 percent
5 - Nelson Mandela, Bill Gates and the Dalai Lama round out the top 10, each named by 1 percent.

Gallup calls President-elect Obama’s percentage a “remarkable” showing.

“The 32 percent of Americans naming Obama as the man they most admire is extraordinarily high, nearly matching the 39 percent of Americans who named George W. Bush in the immediate wake of the 9/11 attacks. At that time, Bush's presidential job approval rating was a soaring 86 percent. It is also higher than former presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush received in any of their appearances on Gallup's Most Admired Man list. Obama is the first president-elect since Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 to top the list.”

MOST ADMIRED WOMEN

1 - Hillary Clinton – 20 percent
2 - Sarah Palin – 11 percent
3- Oprah Winfrey – 8 percent
4 - Condoleezza Rice – 7 percent
5 - “A variety of political figures and entertainment stars round out the top 10.” (BJ NOTE: This does not make clear where Laura Bush and Michelle Obama rank.)

“This is the seventh consecutive year that Hillary Clinton has secured top billing as Americans' Most Admired Woman - and the 13th year she has made the top 10 since her first appearance on the list in 1993.

(…)

“First lady Laura Bush has topped the list only once since her husband took office in 2001. First ladies are much less likely than presidents to win a top spot on Most Admired Woman, although Clinton did it six times in Bill Clinton's two terms as president, Nancy Reagan three times in Ronald Reagan's two terms, and Barbara Bush twice in her husband's one term. Even Rosalynn Carter, whose husband suffered from low approval ratings for much of his last two years in office, achieved the top spot three out of her four years in the White House.”

READ THE SURVEY

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Frodo is offended by the listing of admired women. A day without the names Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Ann Coulter, Lindsey Lohan, or Madonna among the most frequent "hits" on the Internet has not taken place in recorded memory. How can science ignore these facts?

Inquiring minds want to know the important stuff. What will Kevin do with the babies?

Good Southern Man said...

Interesting post! It is amazing to see Obama sharing this list with Bush, Billy G. and Benedict. Things like this always help me to see the opinions of the country rather than the opinions of my circles in Austin, Texas.