Polls & Research

Giuliani, Obama Lead U.S. Political Ranking

- Many American adults hold a favourable opinion of Rudy Giuliani, according to a poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Respondents gave the former New York City mayor a mean rating of 64.2, the highest among 20 politicians surveyed.

Giuliani garnered national and international attention in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and has formed a political action committee called Solutions America. The former mayor has been mentioned as a possible Republican nominee in the 2008 United States presidential election.

Democratic Illinois senator Barack Obama, Republican Arizona senator John McCain, U.S. state secretary Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. president Bill Clinton, Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman and current New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg were the only other persons who surpassed the 50-point mark.

Former Democratic North Carolina senator John Edwards was next with 49.9, followed by Democratic New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democratic New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, and Democratic Delaware senator Joseph Biden.

U.S. president George W. Bush earned a rating of 43.8, slightly lower than former U.S. vice-president Al Gore.

Obama was unknown to 41 per cent of respondents. More than half of all Americans could not form an opinion on Richardson, Biden, Republican Tennessee senator Bill Frist, Democratic Nevada senator Harry Reid, Republican Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Democratic Indiana senator Evan Bayh.

Polling Data

I'd like to get your feelings toward some of our political leaders and other people who have been in the news. I'll read the name of a person and I'd like you to rate that person using something called the feeling thermometer. You can choose any number between 0 and 100. The higher the number, the warmer or more favourable you feel toward that person, the lower the number, the colder or less favourable. If we come to a person who you haven't heard enough about to form an opinion, you don't need to rate the person. Just tell me and we'll move on to the next one.