Bush, Hillary, J.Lo Among Most Admired

By Stephen M. Silverman

Monday December 30, 2002 01:00 AM EST

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The most-admired man and woman in America aren't exactly the likeliest pair.

They are George W. Bush and New York's U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to the results of a year-end Gallup Poll.

Bush, 56, was the runaway winner in the male category, reports the Associated Press, marking the second year in a row he was so named.

The President received 28 percent of the vote, while another former Commander in Chief, Jimmy Carter, 78, who won a Nobel Peace Prize this year, ranked second insofar as his percentage.

Former First Lady Clinton, 55, with 7 percent of the vote, was followed in the women's category by current First Lady Laura Bush, 56, and Oprah Winfrey, 48, each with 6 percent.

Former First Lady Barbara Bush, 77, and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, also 77, each received 3 percent, while Jennifer Lopez, 32, got 2 percent -- tying with incoming North Carolina Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole, 66, and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, 48.

Poet Maya Angelou, 76, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, 65, also finished in the Top 10 women's division.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, 65; Pope John Paul II, 82; former President Bill Clinton, 56; and the Rev. Billy Graham, 84, each earned 2 to 4 percent.

The men's Top 10 was rounded out by former South African President Nelson Mandela, 84; former Vice President Al Gore, 54; former President Reagan, 91; and Denzel Washington, 48.