GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- President George W. Bush is the clear choice as the most admired man in Â鶹´«Ã½AV's annual poll on this topic, while New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton edges out talk-show host Oprah Winfrey and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as the most admired woman. This marks the fifth straight year that Bush has been most admired man, and the fourth straight year that Clinton has been most admired woman. Clinton has topped the list 10 times since 1993. Billy Graham finished among the top 10 most admired men for a record 49th time.
Â鶹´«Ã½AV's Dec. 19-22 poll asked Americans to name, without prompting, the man and woman, living anywhere in the world, whom they admire most. Nineteen percent of Americans named Bush as the most admired man. Former president Bill Clinton, with 5%, and former president Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates (each of whom garners 3%) round out the top five. The remainder of the top 10 includes the Rev. Billy Graham, former South African President Nelson Mandela, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, the Dalai Lama, Arizona Sen. John McCain, and rock singer Bono. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Mormon Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, and former president George H.W. Bush also received mention from at least 1% of Americans.
Most Admired Man, 2005
|
Name |
% Mentioning |
Number of Times |
|
|
1 |
George W. Bush |
19 |
6 |
|
2 |
Bill Clinton |
5 |
14 |
|
3 |
Jimmy Carter |
3 |
24 |
|
4 |
Pope Benedict XVI |
3 |
1 |
|
5 |
Bill Gates |
3 |
7 |
|
6 |
(The Rev.) Billy Graham |
2 |
49 |
|
7 |
Nelson Mandela |
2 |
14 |
|
8 |
Colin Powell |
2 |
14 |
|
9 |
The Dalai Lama |
1 |
2 |
|
10 |
John McCain |
1 |
2 |
|
Bono |
1 |
1 |
Graham's appearance marks the 49th time he has appeared on the top 10 list. Â鶹´«Ã½AV began asking the "most admired" question in 1946. Graham first appeared in the top 10 in 1955 and has been in the top 10 every year since then except 1962 (the question was not asked in 1976). Ronald Reagan has the next most top 10 appearances among men, with 31.
Most Appearances, Top 10 List of Most Admired Men
|
Man |
Number of Appearances |
|
|
|
|
Billy Graham |
49 |
|
Ronald Reagan |
31 |
|
Pope John Paul II |
27 |
|
Jimmy Carter |
24 |
|
Dwight Eisenhower |
21 |
|
Richard Nixon |
21 |
|
Harry Truman |
20 |
|
Edward Kennedy |
18 |
|
Winston Churchill |
17 |
|
George H.W. Bush |
16 |
|
Douglas MacArthur |
15 |
|
Bill Clinton |
14 |
|
Nelson Mandela |
14 |
|
Colin Powell |
14 |
|
Henry Kissinger |
12 |
|
Pope Paul VI |
12 |
|
Adlai Stevenson |
11 |
|
Albert Schweitzer |
11 |
|
Jesse Jackson |
11 |
|
Herbert Hoover |
10 |
|
Pope Pius XII |
10 |
|
Note: A bolded name indicates that the person is still living. |
|
Bush owes his standing this year to the fact that he is easily the consensus choice among Republicans -- 44% of Republicans mention him. Bush is also the top choice among independents, but trails Clinton among Democrats.
Top 5 Most Admired Men, by Party Affiliation
|
Democrats |
Independents |
Republicans |
|||
|
Bill Clinton |
13% |
George W. Bush |
11% |
George W. Bush |
44% |
|
George W. Bush |
7% |
Bill Clinton |
3% |
Billy Graham |
5% |
|
Jimmy Carter |
6% |
Pope Benedict XVI |
3% |
Gordon B. Hinckley |
3% |
|
Pope Benedict XVI |
4% |
Jimmy Carter |
3% |
Colin Powell |
3% |
|
Nelson Mandela |
3% |
Bill Gates |
3% |
Pope Benedict XVI |
2% |
|
Bill Gates |
2% |
||||
The president of the United States has been the most admired man every year since 1981. The last non-president to head the list was Pope John Paul II in 1980. The sitting president has been the most admired man 48 out of the 59 times the question has been asked.
Most Admired Woman
Hillary Rodham Clinton again leads the list of most admired women. Thirteen percent of Americans mention her, compared with 12% for Winfrey and 10% for Rice. Last year, Clinton was mentioned by 13%, Winfrey by 11%, and Rice by 7%.
The remainder of the top 10 for women this year includes first lady Laura Bush, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, actress Angelina Jolie, writer Maya Angelou, businesswoman and television personality Martha Stewart, North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and television journalist Barbara Walters. Former first lady Nancy Reagan and California Sen. Barbara Boxer were also mentioned by at least 1% of Americans.
Most Admired Woman, 2005
|
Name |
% Mentioning |
Number of Times |
|
|
|
|
||
|
1 |
Hillary Rodham Clinton |
13 |
14 |
|
2 |
Oprah Winfrey |
12 |
18 |
|
3 |
Condoleezza Rice |
10 |
5 |
|
4 |
Laura Bush |
4 |
5 |
|
5 |
Margaret Thatcher |
3 |
27 |
|
6 |
Angelina Jolie |
1 |
1 |
|
7 |
Maya Angelou |
1 |
9 |
|
8 |
Martha Stewart |
1 |
2 |
|
9 |
Elizabeth Dole |
1 |
11 |
|
10 |
Sandra Day O'Connor |
1 |
9 |
|
Barbara Walters |
1 |
11 |
This marks the 27th consecutive year that Thatcher has been in the top 10, the 18th consecutive year for Winfrey, and the 14th for Clinton. Former first lady Barbara Bush failed to make the top 10 for the first time since 1987. Queen Elizabeth II of England has the most top 10 appearances among women. She did not finish in the top 10 this year after doing so in 2003 and 2004.
Most Appearances, Top 10 List of Most Admired Women
|
Woman |
Number of Appearances |
|
Queen Elizabeth II |
40 |
|
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis |
28 |
|
Margaret Thatcher |
27 |
|
Mamie Eisenhower |
21 |
|
Margaret Chase Smith |
20 |
|
Nancy Reagan |
19 |
|
Oprah Winfrey |
18 |
|
Mother Teresa |
18 |
|
Clare Boothe Luce |
18 |
|
Helen Keller |
17 |
|
Mme Chiang Kai-Shek |
17 |
|
Betty Ford |
17 |
|
Barbara Bush |
17 |
|
Patricia Nixon |
15 |
|
Hillary Rodham Clinton |
14 |
|
Eleanor Roosevelt |
14 |
|
Elizabeth Dole |
11 |
|
Barbara Walters |
11 |
|
Lady Bird Johnson |
11 |
|
Indira Gandhi |
11 |
|
Princess Diana |
10 |
|
Note: A bolded name indicates that the person is still living. |
|
Each partisan group has a different woman atop its most admired list. Among Democrats, Clinton is the clear leader. Among independents, Winfrey is the top choice, and among Republicans, Rice is most frequently mentioned.
Top 5 Most Admired Women, by Party Affiliation
|
Democrat |
Independent |
Republican |
|||
|
Hillary Clinton |
24% |
Oprah Winfrey |
14% |
Condoleezza Rice |
21% |
|
Oprah Winfrey |
13% |
Hillary Clinton |
8% |
Oprah Winfrey |
9% |
|
Condoleezza Rice |
4% |
Condoleezza Rice |
7% |
Laura Bush |
9% |
|
Maya Angelou |
2% |
Margaret Thatcher |
3% |
Hillary Clinton |
6% |
|
Angelina Jolie |
2% |
Laura Bush |
2% |
Margaret Thatcher |
5% |
|
Margaret Thatcher |
2% |
|
|
||
There are interesting gender differences on the most admired woman question. Winfrey is the top choice among women, at 17%, followed by Clinton, at 12%. Only 7% of men mention Winfrey, compared with 13% for both Clinton and Rice.
While sitting presidents usually win the most admired title among men, sitting first ladies are most admired woman less than one-third of the time -- only 18 times in the 56 times the question has been asked. However, former first ladies, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy, and now Hillary Rodham Clinton, have frequently won the honor, 24 times in all. That means former first ladies have been most admired woman more often than sitting first ladies have been.
Survey Methods
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,004 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 19-22, 2005. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
First,
1. What man that you have heard or read about, living today in any part of the world, do you admire most? And who is your second choice?
COMBINED FIRST AND SECOND CHOICES (Ranked according to number of responses, 2005)
|
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
||
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
|
1 |
George W. Bush |
19 |
23 |
29 |
28 |
39 |
5 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
2 |
Bill Clinton |
5 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
10 |
18 |
14 |
18 |
|
3 |
Jimmy Carter |
3 |
4 |
1 |
9 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
4 |
Pope Benedict XVI |
3 |
-- |
-- |
--- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
|
|
|
5 |
Bill Gates |
3 |
1 |
1 |
* |
* |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
* |
|
6 |
(The Rev.) Billy Graham |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
|
7 |
Nelson Mandela |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
|
8 |
Colin Powell |
2 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
6 |
|
9 |
Dalai Lama |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
* |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
10 |
John McCain |
1 |
1 |
* |
* |
* |
-- |
1 |
|
|
|
|
10 |
Bono |
1 |
* |
* |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
|
|
|
Tony Blair |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
* |
* |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Gordon B. Hinckley |
1 |
* |
1 |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
George H.W. Bush |
1 |
* |
* |
* |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
John Kerry |
* |
2 |
* |
* |
* |
-- |
-- |
|
|
|
|
|
Rudolph Giuliani |
* |
1 |
* |
1 |
4 |
-- |
* |
|
|
|
|
|
John Edwards |
* |
1 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
|
|
|
|
Mel Gibson |
* |
1 |
-- |
* |
* |
-- |
-- |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
* |
1 |
1 |
-- |
* |
* |
* |
|
|
|
|
|
Donald Trump |
* |
1 |
* |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
Kofi Annan |
* |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
-- |
-- |
|
|
|
|
|
Jesse Jackson |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
Michael Jordan |
* |
* |
-- |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
Norman Schwartzkopf |
* |
* |
-- |
* |
* |
-- |
* |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
Rush Limbaugh |
* |
-- |
* |
* |
* |
-- |
1 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
Ross Perot |
* |
-- |
* |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
* |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Al Gore |
-- |
* |
* |
1 |
* |
5 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
Bob Dole |
-- |
* |
-- |
* |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
Pope John Paul II |
-- |
3 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
5 |
8 |
|
|
Ronald Reagan |
-- |
-- |
2 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Friend/Relative |
6 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
10 |
12 |
10 |
11 |
|
|
Other |
25 |
20 |
24 |
21 |
17 |
26 |
25 |
34 |
31 |
33 |
|
|
None/No opinion |
27 |
24 |
25 |
27 |
22 |
33 |
25 |
29 |
34 |
27 |
|
|
* Less than 0.5% |
|||||||||||
|
Note: Contact Â鶹´«Ã½AV for full trend, 1946-2005. |
2. What woman that you have heard or read about, living today in any part of the world, do you admire most? And who is your second choice?
COMBINED FIRST AND SECOND CHOICES (Ranked according to number of responses, 2005)
|
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
Dec |
|||
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
|||
|
1 |
Hillary Rodham Clinton |
13 |
13 |
16 |
7 |
8 |
19 |
14 |
28 |
14 |
13 |
|
|
2 |
Oprah Winfrey |
12 |
11 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
8 |
5 |
5 |
|
|
3 |
Condoleezza Rice |
10 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
* |
-- |
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
Laura Bush |
4 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
12 |
* |
-- |
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
Margaret Thatcher |
3 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
|
|
6 |
Angelina Jolie |
1 |
* |
* |
-- |
* |
-- |
-- |
|
|
|
|
|
7 |
Maya Angelou |
1 |
1 |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
8 |
Martha Stewart |
1 |
1 |
* |
* |
* |
* |
-- |
|
|
|
|
|
9 |
Elizabeth Dole |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
2 |
5 |
|
|
10 |
Barbara Walters |
1 |
* |
* |
1 |
1 |
* |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
10 |
Sandra Day O'Connor |
1 |
* |
* |
* |
* |
1 |
-- |
* |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Nancy Reagan |
1 |
1 |
1 |
* |
* |
-- |
1 |
* |
1 |
2 |
||
|
Barbara Boxer |
1 |
* |
* |
* |
-- |
-- |
* |
|
|
|
||
|
Barbara Bush |
* |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
6 |
||
|
Madeleine Albright |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
||
|
Queen Elizabeth |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
* |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
||
|
Rosalynn Carter |
* |
* |
* |
1 |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
1 |
||
|
Wangari Maathai |
-- |
1 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
|
|
||
|
Halle Berry |
-- |
1 |
-- |
* |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
|
|
||
|
Janet Reno |
-- |
* |
-- |
* |
* |
* |
* |
1 |
1 |
|
||
|
Barbra Streisand |
-- |
-- |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
1 |
1 |
||
|
Mother Teresa |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
23 |
||
|
Princess Diana |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
4 |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
Friend/Relative |
8 |
8 |
9 |
7 |
4 |
8 |
12 |
13 |
13 |
16 |
||
|
Other |
18 |
18 |
22 |
24 |
21 |
25 |
22 |
27 |
24 |
28 |
||
|
None/No opinion |
29 |
27 |
31 |
28 |
40 |
34 |
33 |
29 |
34 |
25 |
||
|
* Less than 0.5% |
||||||||||||
|
|
