For my final Loonie Politics column of 2020, let's examine America's most admired man of this strange, unusual and difficult year. Although the top vote-getter's identity will shock many readers, he actually fits the bill with near-perfection.
Gallup, the respected polling company founded in 1935, has conducted an open-ended survey the past 74 years to determine the most admired man and woman among American respondents. Two former presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower (1950, 1952-60, 1967-68) and Barack Obama (2008-2020), have each topped the list 12 times. The latter's accomplishment is a bit more impressive because it's occurred in succession.
Obama's long winning streak has finally come to an end. Who topped Gallup's most admired man poll in 2020? U.S. President Donald Trump.
It's true. Trump earned 18 percent, followed by Obama (15 percent), Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden (6 percent), Dr. Anthony Fauci (3 percent) and Pope Francis (2 percent). Everyone else earned 1 percent or less. Gallup's poll was conducted between Dec. 1-17, and the methodology is "combined first and second mentions; rankings based on total number of responses."
"How could this be real?," some may be thinking. "Is it really possible that a lightning rod for political controversy could win this type of poll?," others may be pondering. And in a few deep, dark corners, several may be wondering, "Should we ask for a recount?"
Aside from the mostly left-leaning yelps of horror in the mainstream media and on social media, this result isn't even slightly surprising. It makes a lot of sense, when you get over the initial surprise (and, in certain cases, abject horror) and seriously think about it.
A U.S. president has topped Gallup's annual poll on 60 of 74 occasions between 1946-2020. That's 81 percent, which is an enormous figure in the world of opinion polling. (Only one sitting president, Gerald Ford, didn't top a poll although it wasn't conducted in 1976, his final year in office.) Hence, the individual sitting in the White House, or a former occupant, has a distinct advantage over the rest of the world.
The top recipient of Gallup's most admired man poll has been an American on every single occasion except one: Pope John Paul II in 1980. In other words, American respondents almost always name a powerful American as a first or second choice and a current or former President of the United States would be an obvious pick.
Trump has already topped this poll, too. He tied Obama in 2019, albeit with little notice or fanfare. If you're really that floored by this year's result, maybe you should reflect on the fact it was barely acknowledged last year.
It's also not an earth-shattering result.
Trump has finished either first or second in this poll during his entire presidency. His poll numbers in Gallup aren't great his job approval rate was 39 percent between Dec. 1-17 but his low satisfaction rate is nearly equal to that of Congress (16 percent vs. 15 percent, respectively). To make a long story short, no major figure in U.S. politics is wildly popular today.
Meanwhile, Gallup listed two other interesting facts about this year's poll:
"Forty-eight percent of Republicans name Trump this year, with no other public figure receiving more than 2% of Republicans' votes."
"Obama is the top choice among Democrats, at 32%, but that is down from 41% last year. President-elect Joe Biden (13%) is also commonly named by Democrats."
If Trump was the main political figure that most self-described Republican respondents mentioned to Gallup, then his overall numbers should be fairly high. Plus, if Obama's numbers dropped in 2020, which could have occurred due to his increased involvement in this year's presidential election, and self-described Democratic respondents listed Biden and others as top choices, this clearly worked to Trump's advantage.
Finally, and most importantly, let's keep some proper perspective. This poll is interesting to break down, but has little to no bearing on national politics, policy and popularity.
Trump, this year's top finisher, will be out of office in a few weeks' time. Gen. Douglas MacArthur was the top selection on three occasions (1946-47, 1951), but his popularity didn't help him succeed in a half-hearted attempt to become a compromise candidate at the 1952 Republican National Convention. Hillary Clinton has topped the annual poll of Gallup's most admired woman a record 22 times. This includes 2016, when she ran for President. She lost that election to Trump, as you may recall.
There you have it. An unpopular President for some can be the most popular American to others, and can win a popularity contest as Gallup's most admired man of 2020 without winning either the Electoral College or popular vote.
Ain't life grand?
Happy New Year, everyone and all the best for 2021!
