Americans Admire Glenn Beck More Than the Dalai Lama

It's the end of the world as we know it . . . . and I feel . . . . sick to my stomach.

OK, it's not that bad, I think, but . . . well, maybe. Anyway.

Barack Obama leads the list with more support than the rest of the top 10 combined. Nelson Mandela, Bill Gates, Pope Benedict XVI, the Rev. Billy Graham, Jimmy Carter and Glenn Beck about evenly at 2 percent. Only 1 percent of Americans reported that they admired the Dalai Lama above the rest.

But still . . . Glenn Beck? More than the Dalai Lama? That's sad . . . at best.

Americans Admire Glenn Beck More Than the Dalai Lama

Posted on Dec 27, 2010

Flickr / Gage Skidmore A tribute to jingoism: Relax, Beck—you made the list.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton top the USA Today/Gallup Poll lists of the most admired men and women in 2010. Obama has lost some love since last year, but still has more admiration among Americans than the rest of the top 10 combined.

Hillary Clinton has owned the top spot on her list 15 times since 1992, including the last nine years straight. She’s the New York Yankees of admiration. But Sarah Palin and Oprah Winfrey are not far behind her this year. Michelle Obama trails a distant fourth.

Americans admire Nelson Mandela, Bill Gates, Pope Benedict XVI, the Rev. Billy Graham, Jimmy Carter and Glenn Beck about evenly at 2 percent.

Only 1 percent of Americans reported that they admired the Dalai Lama above the rest.

The women’s list also included Condoleezza Rice, Queen Elizabeth II, Angelina Jolie, Margaret Thatcher, Laura and Barbara Bush and Burmese resistance leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Jolie is the only entertainer on either of the top 10 lists, unless you count Ronald Reagan. In fact, both lists are dominated by political figures.

As USA Today points out: “Not on either top-10 list: A Supreme Court justice, current senator or congressman, athlete or scientist.” —PZS

Tags: Americans, Admiration, Glenn Beck, Dalai Lama, Truth Dig, USA Today, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, popularity, culture