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Here's an accounting of who earned the Top 5 spots for men and women in a 2010 Gallup poll.
Michelle Obama visits the Toys for Tots distribution center in Washington on Dec. 17. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
4. Nelson Mandela and Michelle Obama
This is Mr. Mandela’s 19th appearance in the Top 10, receiving 2 percent of the vote this time. Mrs. Obama got 5 percent, a relatively low number for a sitting first lady. Historically, these women have figured high in the poll.
However, Gallup speculates, Mrs. Obama might be hurt by the fact that “many Democrats, who might otherwise name a Democratic first lady, instead name Hillary Clinton.” In fact, the highest percentage earned by a sitting first lady in recent history was by Hillary Rodham Clinton, who got 22 percent of the vote after her husband’s first year as president.
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