The FINANCIAL — Americans again name Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama the woman and man living anywhere in the world they admire most. Both win by wide margins over the next-closest finishers, Malala Yousafzai for women and Pope Francis and Donald Trump for men.
Although Clinton and Obama each led this year’s poll by significant margins, the percentage mentioning each as most admired is slightly lower than the percentages they have received in the past. Across the eight times Obama has been most admired man, an average 23% of Americans have named him, while in the 20 times Clinton has been most admired woman, an average 16% have named her.
The top 10 list for men includes three presidents (Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton), three current presidential candidates (Trump, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Dr. Ben Carson), and three religious and spiritual leaders (Pope Francis, the Dalai Lama and the Rev. Billy Graham). The only top 10 male finisher who doesn’t fall into one of those categories is Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates.
Trump’s surprisingly strong and often controversial presidential campaign has made him a prominent news figure this year and, thus, top-of-mind for many Americans. This helps explain his strong showing when Gallup asks Americans, in an open-ended fashion, to name the man they admire most. The successful businessman has finished in the top 10 four other times, including from 1988 through 1990 and in 2011.
The 10 most admired women are an eclectic mix of political figures (Clinton, fellow 2016 presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin), human rights leaders (Yousafzai of Pakistan and Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar), and television personalities (Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres). Queen Elizabeth of England and Michelle Obama, who hold largely ceremonial positions in the government, also finished among the leading women.
Clinton Named Most Admired More Than Any Other Woman or Man
Clinton has been the most admired woman each of the last 14 years, and 20 times overall, occupying the top spot far longer than any other woman or man in Gallup’s history of asking the most admired question. Since 1993, the year she was first named most admired woman, Clinton has stayed in the news as first lady, U.S. senator, secretary of state and a two-time presidential candidate.
Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt was named most admired woman 13 times during her lifetime, putting her second to Clinton in terms of first-place finishes. Dwight Eisenhower has 12 No. 1 finishes, the most for any man. Obama, the most admired man each of the last eight years, is now tied with Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan for top overall finishes among men.
Americans usually name the sitting U.S. president as the most admired man. The only men to win the distinction at least four times were all presidents. The tendency to name the sitting president as most admired man has acted as a cap on the number of total times a man can win the honor at eight, or the number of years elected presidents can serve.
So far, Eisenhower is the only man to win more than eight times. In addition to the eight years he served as president from 1953 to 1961, the World War II hero was also named most admired the year he was first elected president (1952), and three other years when the incumbent president was generally unpopular (1950, 1967 and 1968).
Obama can join Eisenhower as winning most admired more than eight times if he stays relatively popular during his final year in office, having also won in 2008, the year he was elected, when incumbent President George W. Bush was unpopular.
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