This week, USA Today announced that Barack Obama is the most admired man in America. It is the first time since 1952 that a President-Elect has topped the list. The list features the most admired men and women as determined by Americans.
To me, it is encouraging to know that Americans admire the President-Elect. I hope (I am fairly certain that this is the first time in more than 100 blogs that I have used the words "I hope") that Obama's charisma, character and intelligence will help this nation avert another depression and end this recession.
Obama appears to be the third president since Kennedy to possess extraordinary charisma (Reagan and Clinton were the other 2). Many readers will dismiss Clinton... so, let's remember Reagan in 1984. The biggest problem for Walter Mondale in his bid to defeat Ronald Reagan was his inability to instill confidence and pride in voters. I remember hearing Mondale in an interview stating that many people he encountered said that they thought he had better ideas than Reagan, but that Reagan made them "proud to be an American". If all goes well, over the next x years, Obama will generate the American pride of Reagan, the intelligence of Clinton and the American ambition of Kennedy.
A side note... there were several other possible headlines for this blog:
"Obama 16 times more admired than Pope"
"Hillary 7 times more admired than Obama's Wife"
"Americans Admire Pres-Elect 6 times more than the President"
---AND my favorite---
"Hell Freezes - Palin is more admired than Oprah"
What are your thoughts? Will admiration for Obama help to lead this country back to prosperity and international admiration?
Best regards,
Jay
Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net
There is probably more we don't know about that "poll" than we do know.
I stopped believing in polls about half century ago.
The Cynic.
That said, one must admire Obama for the drive, dedication, organization and oratory skills that got him the election.