Obama replaces Jesus Christ as #1 hero

Barack Obama has received extreme popularity in last few months that he didn’t receive all his life. So far, Obama was winning against all his human competitors. But recently he won against Jesus Christ himself. Yes, you read it right!

When The Harris Poll® asked a cross-section of adult Americans to say whom they admire enough to call their heroes, President Barack Obama was mentioned most often, followed by Jesus Christ and Martin Luther King.

Others in the top ten, in descending order, were Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Abraham Lincoln, John McCain, John F. Kennedy, Chesley Sullenberger and Mother Teresa.

These heroes were named spontaneously.  Those surveyed were not shown or read a list of people to choose from.  The Harris Poll was conducted online among a sample of 2,634 U.S. adults (aged 18 and over) by Harris Interactive® between January 12 and 19, 2009.

What Makes a Hero?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The public gives multiple reasons to explain their choice of heroes.  Those mentioned
most often include:
•  “Doing what’s right regardless of personal consequences” (89%);
•  “Not giving up until the goal is accomplished” (83%)
•  “Doing more than what other people expect of them” (82%)
•  “Overcoming adversity” (81%), and
•  “Staying level-headed in a crisis” (81%).

Some Former Heroes No Longer Considered Heroes
When asked to name people who used to be their heroes but who they no longer consider as heroes, the people mentioned most often are Colin Powell, George W. Bush, John McCain, Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy.  In 2001, Bill Clinton topped this list.

So What? A Few Observations and Comments
1. The fact that President Obama is mentioned more often than Jesus Christ should not be misinterpreted.  No list was used and nobody was asked to choose between them.

2. It is noteworthy that the top ten include six dead heroes (including Jesus Christ and Martin Luther King) and four live ones.

3. The top 10 list includes five presidents.  The top 20 includes eight.

4. Hillary Clinton, now Secretary of State, ranks higher on the list (#12) than her husband President Bill Clinton (#16).

Methodology

This Harris Poll® was conducted online within the United States between January 12 and 19, 2009, among 2,634 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates.

These  are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

Copyrights: The Harris Poll