Among the sea of recent polls that show President Obama is falling big time with the American people — due in part to Obamacare blunders and in part to his dishonesty about the health care rollout — now comes Gallup with a ray of light: He’s still the most admired.
“For the sixth consecutive year, Barack Obama ranks as the Most Admired Man among Americans,” Gallup reported on its website.
And Most Admired Woman?
That would be Hillary Clinton, the polling agency found.
“Both won by comfortable margins,” Gallup reported. “Sixteen percent named Obama, compared with 4 percent each for former President George W. Bush and Pope Francis. Clinton [at 15 percent] finished ahead of television personality Oprah Winfrey [6 percent], first lady Michelle Obama [5 percent] and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin [5 percent].”
The poll, conducted Dec. 5-8, simply asks respondents to name the man and woman in the world who is most admired.
Mr. Obama’s name has topped the list since 2008, Gallup said. At the same time, the numbers of those naming him have fallen off considerably, in line with other polls showing his popularity has dwindled. For instance, this year only 16 percent named him Most Admired Man — compared to 2012, when 30 percent chose him.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Clinton “has been named Most Admired Woman a total of 18 times, more than any other woman in Gallup’s history, including each of the last 12 years,” Gallup said. “Clinton first won the distinction in 1993, when she was first lady, and has continued to rank at or near the top of the list while serving in a variety of public roles.”
Still, her admiration rank has fallen, too. Last year, 21 percent named her Most Admired Woman — and her 2013 ranking of 15 percent is “the lowest figure for her since 2006,” Gallup found.
Rounding out the list of Most Admired Men: Bill Clinton and the Rev. Billy Graham, with 2 percent each, and Bill Gates, Clint Eastwood, Ron Paul, Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney and Jimmy Carter, all with 1 percent each.
On the women’s list: Malala Yousafzai and Condoleeza Rice came in with 2 percent, followed by Angela Merkel, Angelina Jolie, Duchess Kate and Queen Elizabeth II, all with 1 percent.
The survey was a random phone sampling of 1,031 adults, age 18 or older. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.