Poll: Hillary and Sarah are the women Americans admire most

*
Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin are the two women Americans admire the most, our friend Andrew Malcolm reports:

Are American voters dropping a hint here?

According to a new survey just released by USA Today and the Gallup Poll, the 62-year-old Clinton barely beat out the 45-year-old Palin as the most admired female -- 16% to 15% in a poll of 1,025 adult Americans.

However, since the poll has a margin of error of +/- 4 points, it's statistically a P-C draw. The survey was open-ended, meaning men and women respondents had to provide the names by themselves.

Not that public admiration necessarily translates to votes. But the results have to set off any political spectator's eager imagination about a future presidential ballot match-up between the pair, who are politically polar opposites, both outspoken, both often under-estimated and both beloved by their respective bases.

First Lady Michelle Obama finished back in fourth place, just behind Oprah Winfrey. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Queen Elizabeth II finished in a tie for fifth.

The list of most admired men, according to the poll, was topped by President Obama, followed by former President George W. Bush, who is enjoying something of a surge in popularity as Americans prove that Joni Mitchell was right -- "You don't know what you got till it's gone." Nelson Mandela was third, Glenn Beck fourth, Pope Benedict XVI fifth and the Rev. Billy Graham sixth.

- JP