Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Again Top Gallup’s Most-Admired List

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton once again topped Gallup’s polling of the most admired man and woman, marking the 13th straight year for Clinton and seventh for Obama.

Nearly one-fifth of respondents named Obama the most admired man, far ahead of runner-up Pope Francis and others including Bill Clinton (3%) and George W. Bush (2%). Obama has held the top spot every year since first being elected to the White House in 2008. But that’s not much of a surprise, according to Gallup: “The incumbent president is nearly always the winner of the most admired distinction, having placed first in all but 12 of the 68 years the question has been asked.”

But his fortunes have fluctuated over that time. In 2008 and 2009, he was named as the most admired man by nearly one-third of respondents. That dropped into the teens by 2011 before rebounding to 30% in 2012, his re-election year. In 2013, Obama faced a number of problems, including most notably the disastrous rollout of the health care exchanges. He was still the most admired man, but named so by only 16% of respondents.

Despite his party losing control of the Senate in November’s midterm election, Obama has made a vigorous bid to stay relevant as he heads into the final two years of his presidency. That includes a move to defer deportations of some undocumented immigrants, thawing relations with Cuba, and responding to belligerence by Russia and North Korea.

Clinton was named as the most admired woman by 12% of poll respondents, followed by Oprah Winfrey (8%), Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai (5%), and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (4%). Clinton, herself a former secretary of state, continues her record streak as she heads toward a likely presidential run in 2016. She has held the top spot in the most admired woman poll more times than any other since Gallup started asking the question in 1948, finishing first 19 times. That’s far ahead of Eleanor Roosevelt, who was the most admired 13 times.

But while she continues to hold the top spot, the levels of public admiration for Clinton have dropped since she left the State Department almost two years ago. How a potential presidential run would affect her standing is unknown. As Gallup points out:

On one hand, being a presidential candidate and the clear front-runner would ensure she stays a prominent figure in the news. On the other hand, as a presidential candidate she likely would be evaluated from a more partisan perspective, which may cause some — particularly Republicans — to view her in a less favorable light.

The poll, conducted in early December, is an annual Gallup tradition dating back nearly seventy years. Queen Elizabeth II (46 times) and Billy Graham (58 times) have appeared most often in the top 10. Others who have frequently appeared include Margaret Thatcher (34), Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (28), Ronald Reagan (31), Jimmy Carter (28), and Pope John Paul II (27).

Interestingly, Obama is also the most admired man among Republicans, tied at 8% with Pope Francis. Only 3% of Republicans cite former president George W. Bush as the man they admire most. But Rice, his secretary of state, was cited by 9% of Republicans as their most admired woman, followed by Winfrey (6%) and Clinton (5%).

Unsurprisingly, Obama (33%) and Clinton (20%) also led the Democratic most-admired list. Pope Francis (5%) was also second among Democrats.

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Again Top Gallup’s Most-Admired List