(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - In a list of seven past and current United States political figures, only two are liked by a majority of people, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 77 per cent of respondents have a favourable view of former U.S. state secretary Colin Powell, and 55 per cent feel the same way about former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

Three presidential hopefuls are next on the list: Republican Arizona senator John McCain and Democratic New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton with 48 per cent each, and Republican former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney with 36 per cent.

Republican Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo—who is also seeking the presidential nomination—is viewed favourably by 15 per cent of respondents, while Republican Arizona senator Jon Kyl is last with 14 per cent. Tancredo has criticized a proposed "grand bargain" proposal for immigration reform, which Kyl supports.

Powell gained notoriety after acting as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff from 1989 to 1993, a period which included the first Persian Gulf war. He also was the first African American U.S. state secretary, serving from January 2001 to January 2005.

On Jun. 18 in Russia, Powell discussed global diplomacy, saying, "I'd rather have the challenges that exist between Russia and the U.S. now than the problems I faced when I was chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, when every morning I would check to see where Russian submarines were."

Clinton—a Democrat and former governor of Arkansas—won the 1992 U.S. presidential election. His campaign was largely based on a condemnation of the economic recession of the early 1990s. In 1996, Clinton became the first Democrat to serve two terms as president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, winning 49.2 per cent of all cast ballots and 379 electoral votes. Clinton's last term in office was tarnished by his admission of an extra-marital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

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