Obama Most Admired Man: Poll

Hillary Clinton still tops woman, followed by Sarah Palin

(NEWSER) - His approval ratings may have cratered over the past two years, but Barack Obama is still the most admired man in America, according to Gallup’s annual poll . Obama took 22% of the vote, cruising past the competition. Who came in second? The Decider himself, George W. Bush, who narrowly edged out Bill Clinton, 5% to 4%. Nelson Mandela and Bill Gates round out the top five. Obama’s dominance isn’t too surprising, Gallup notes—sitting presidents have taken the top spot in 52 of the 64 years it has run the poll. More»

Gallup poll includes Tiger Woods and his wife in top 10

(NEWSER) - Despite falling approval ratings, President Obama is the most admired man among Americans polled. He’s got “a very strong fan base,” says a pollster from Gallup, which conducted the survey with USA Today . Obama’s 30% of the vote, though partisan enough, is a blowout compared to the women’s contest, where Hillary Clinton’s 16% stake barely edged out Sarah Palin’s 15%. More»

Weird doings with Hillary, Huck and a chucked shoe

(NEWSER) - Oh-eight was a banner year for politics, and half the time it was a really strange banner. Politico looks back on the weirdest moments in a topsy-turvy year.

• Mike Huckabee holds a news conference to announce he won’t run a negative ad, then plays the ad for everyone.
• Desperate for blue collar cred, Hillary Clinton awkwardly downs a whiskey shot in an Indiana bar.
• San Francisco tries to rename a sewage plant after George W. Bush.

If Barack can do it, anyone can—except Muslims, gays, atheists ...

(NEWSER) - A self-described “black man with a funny name” is now the most powerful person on the planet. So which minority group will next see one of its own in the Oval Office? Mark Oppenheimer considers the contenders in Slate:

• Women: Not technically a minority, which means that if “they choose to unite behind one of their own—as many of them were inclined to do in 2008—they'll be the not-so-little voting bloc that could.” Candidates: Hillary Clinton, Kathleen Sebelius, Claire McCaskill. Not a chance: Sarah Palin.

Obama gives detailed interview about the terrorist leader's demise

(NEWSER) - It's the first anniversary of the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and MSNBC today released a series of interviews Brian Williams conducted with President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and other top-ranking officials detailing their preparation for and reaction to the raid. "Ultimately, it was a 50/50 proposition as to whether this was actually bin Laden," Obama reveals. Speaking of the night he made the decision, he said, "There's no doubt that you don't sleep as much that evening." More»