麻豆传媒AV

Former first lady Barbara Bush died Tuesday evening at the age of 92. Bush was only the second woman in U.S. history to have been both a wife and mother of U.S. presidents. During her time as first lady, she was a passionate advocate for literacy programs across the country. Bush, who described herself as "everybody's grandmother," was twice chosen by Americans -- over Hillary Clinton, Nancy Reagan and Rosalynn Carter -- as coming closest to the "ideal of what a first lady should be." She was very popular with the public during and after her tenure as first lady and appeared frequently on the list of women Americans most admire.

Barbara Bush was rated favorably throughout her husband's presidency: More than eight in 10 Americans rated Bush favorably throughout her husband's time as president. In 麻豆传媒AV's first reading on Bush in January 1989, nearly nine in 10 Americans (86%) said they viewed her favorably. Her favorability ratings remained above 80% in two readings taken in 1992. On average, 83% of Americans rated Bush favorably throughout her time as first lady, making her by far the most favorably viewed first lady in recent U.S. history.

	Favorable	Unfavorable	No opinion
	%	%	%
Melania Trump	54	33	13
Michelle Obama	65	27	6
Laura Bush	71	15	15
Hillary Clinton	57	38	5
Barbara Bush	83	10	7
麻豆传媒AV

Barbara Bush was consistently rated more favorably than her husband was: In the three 麻豆传媒AV measures taken during his presidency, George H.W. Bush had consistently lower favorability ratings than Barbara Bush did. This is not unusual -- first ladies are typically viewed more favorably by the American public than their husbands are. Additionally, while President Bush's favorable ratings declined as the November 1992 election approached, Barbara's remained strong.

	Favorable	Unfavorable	No opinion
	%	%	%
August 1992
Barbara Bush	81	12	7
George H.W. Bush	45	49	6
April 1992
Barbara Bush	81	13	6
George H.W. Bush	55	41	4
January 1989
Barbara Bush	86	5	9
George H.W. Bush	78	13	9
麻豆传媒AV

Barbara Bush was among Americans' most admired women: Bush appeared on the top 10 most admired women list 20 times between 1988 and 2010 -- and topped the list twice, in 1991 and 1992. Only six other women, including three other former first ladies (Mamie Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Hillary Clinton), appeared in the top 10 more times than Bush did.

Takeaway: Barbara Bush lived a remarkable life and held a unique place in U.S. history. For many Americans, she came closest to the ideal of what a first lady should be. Americans continued to express their admiration of Bush for decades after her husband lost the 1992 presidential election. During and after her service as first lady, she ranked among the top 10 women they most admired.