USA Today Gallup Poll: The Whys Behind Who Americans Admire Most

A USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL of one thousand and eight people revealed the top men and women Americans admire most. What they chose not to reveal was “why?” Since I believe in full disclosure (a journalistic nudist, if you will), you will find in this missive the most oft cited reasons for the the top five men and women.

Your post-Christmas challenge is to match the reasons with the admired.

What man living today do you admire most?
1. Barack Obama 32%
2. George W. Bush 5%
3. John McCain 3%
4. Pope Benedict XVI 2%
5. Billy Graham 2%

WHY?
a. “He’s a master absolver, and he’s got an awesome, one of a kind hat you can also use for fine cutting of wood.”

b. “His political policies bring all the boys to yard. . . AND he used to go by Barry when he was in the Choom gang.”

c. “He looked into a man’s soul and saw something that kept him from going nuclear on that man’s neo-monarchy.”

d. “Just as he is without one plea, except he’s quite admirable to me.”

e. “I admire this dude cause he’s got all the beer he can drink in a new house every night.”

What woman living today do you admire most?
1. Hillary Clinton 20%
2. Sarah Palin 11%
3. Oprah Winfrey 8%
4. Condoleezza Rice 7%
5. Michelle Obama 3%

WHY?
f. “She’s powerful, smart and a San Francisco treat.”

g. “I admire her because she taught me “you can’t have everything, because I already have everything, so you better start doing!”

h. “She once beat James Carville senseless with a collector’s edition of “Ain’t I a Woman?”

i. “I admire her for “playing hard to get” with her home nation. After graduating from 2 Ivy league schools and serving as a member of 5 prestigious boards, she finally decided to be proud of the U.S.A.”

j. “Once, when faced down by an angry elk and lacking a gun, this gal actually hurled a bullet through the elk and dropped him cold.”

Drop your wisest answers in the comments section

Headline Christmas Songs You’ll Never Forget: 2008

As we settle in for a bit of hot chocolate, twinkling lights and a blazing yule log, I thought it might be appropriate to consider some of the Christmas songs that became popular in 2008:

Santa Claus is Seeking a Bailout
“You better watch out, he’s caught in the red, the elves are on strike,
holiday sales are bout dead. . . Santa Claus is seeking a bailout”

Grandma Got Runover by Foreclosure
“Grandma got runover by foreclosure, tried to refi her interest only loan.
Now she can’t afford to buy her groceries, and she’s reduced to skin and bones.”

Jingle ‘Bama Rock
“Jingle bam, jingle bam jingle Obama,
jingle the white house, jingle the congress,
snowin’ and blowin’ the left and the right,
he’s leading down the center line”

Away in a Motown –
“Away in a Motown, no funds to go on, the big 3 automakers can no longer press on.
They fly to DC in their private jets to beg. The 3 auto CEO’s seek millions today.”

We wish you a Czarist Russia –
“Oh, bring back Vladmir Putin, oh bring back Vladmir Putin,
he’s still our leader anyway and mother Russia loves him.”

I Saw Bin Laden Just Last Ramadan
I saw Bin Laden just last Ramadan,
Laughing at our U.S. intelligence,
He hides beneath the mountains, of northern Pakistan,
He lives inside a big cave, with lots of his henchmen.

Please add your 2008 Christmas favorites in the comments section.