WASHINGTON, 4 January 2004 — She is the woman you either love, or love to hate. Either way, Hillary Rodham Clinton has caught America’s attention.
A new Gallup poll shows a considerable increase of Americans who consider Sen. Hillary Clinton to be the woman they most admire, which adds new fuel to hopes — or fears — that she will enter the US presidential race.
The poll also shows that for the sixth time in the last several years, Hillary Clinton has topped the list of the nation’s most admired women.
The latest poll names Mrs. Clinton as the first or second of the women they most admired at 16 percent; followed by TV talk-show host Oprah Winfrey with 7 percent; first lady Laura Bush came in with 6 percent. They were followed by Condoleezza Rice, the president’s national security adviser (4 percent); former first lady Barbara Bush (3 percent) and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (2 percent).
In 2002, there was no consensus as to the most admired woman, but Clinton, Winfrey, and Laura Bush were the most often mentioned. In 2001, Laura Bush was most frequently mentioned as the most admired woman (12 percent).
Why has Mrs. Clinton scored almost three times higher than the first lady? Several reasons: Mrs. Bush isn’t running for anything and Mrs. Clinton is — and it’s not necessarily re-election to her Senate seat. And Mrs. Clinton has published a best-selling memoir this year, “Living History,” and made a Thanksgiving trip to visit US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Laura Bush, meanwhile, leads a low-key first ladyship and has chosen to be less visible than other first ladies.
In the same poll, released last week, Americans named President Bush as the man they most admire in the world.
Significantly, Bush slipped by 10 percentage points from Gallup’s December 2001 poll, while Mrs. Clinton gained considerably from the same poll from two years ago. The percentage of those naming the New York Democratic senator as their first or second choice doubled from 8 percent to 16 percent.
Presidents have generally dominated the top spot in the history of this question, and Bush’s current 29 percent score rates among the best any incumbent president has received. Twenty-nine percent of Americans mention George W. Bush as the man they admire most. No other man comes close this year, as only 4 percent mention Secretary of State Colin Powell and Pope John Paul II, and 3 percent mention former President Bill Clinton.