WASHINGTON — They’re the odd couple again: George Bush and Hillary Clinton, the most admired man and woman in America.
Though they stand on opposite sides of a political divide, the Republican president and the Democratic senator from New York are sharing the honor for a sixth straight year, according to a USA Today-Gallup poll.
They didn’t win by much. Oprah Winfrey and Clinton’s husband, former president Bill, were right behind.
When people were asked to name the man they most admire, 10 percent picked Bush, his lowest figure in the seven years he has been president. Bill Clinton got 8 percent — within the poll’s margin of sampling error — while Nobel Prize winner and former Vice President Al Gore had 6 percent and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, a presidential hopeful, was chosen by 5 percent.
Whoever is president has won the most-admired title every year since 1981.
Sen. Clinton, hoping to be president-elect by the time of the next poll, was named by 18 percent as the most-admired woman, the 12th time she’s been in the top spot. Talk show host Winfrey came in a close second with 16 percent. First lady Laura Bush and actress Angelina Jolie were each selected by 3 percent.
The poll, released Wednesday, asked participants an open-ended question, allowing them to respond with any names that came to mind. The rest of the votes were spread among a variety of government figures, movie stars, friends and relatives. Queen Elizabeth II was in the top 10 for a record 41st time.
The poll of 1,011 adults was taken between Dec. 14 and 16 and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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