Clinton took 17 percent of the vote this year, topping Palin's 12 percent and Oprah Winfrey's 11 percent. First Lady Michelle Obama came in fourth, with 5 percent of voters saying they admire her the most. Palin had gained some ground on Clinton in 2009, when the 9-point gap between them in 2008 narrowed to a mere point.
Democrats and Independents strongly favored Clinton over other women, with 31 percent of Democrats choosing her and 13 percent choosing Oprah, while just 15 percent of Independents favored Clinton and 10 percent chose Oprah. On the Republican side, 25 percent picked Palin, 8 percent picked Oprah, and 5 percent picked Clinton.
I know, Oprah is a talk show host! What is so significant about that??? If her show had begun in the 1950s or 1960s when there weren't a lot of black people on TV, I could understand it, especially if she had made civil rights a primary focus. But Oprah's show started in the 1980s and most of what's on there is mere fluff. Even the more serious topics are explored about as deeply as what you'd get from an article in People Magazine.