Poll: Chris Christie, Hillary Clinton are America's 'hottest politicians'
| Washington
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton are the 鈥渉ottest politicians鈥� in the United States, according to a just-released Quinnipiac University national poll.
On average, respondents rated Governor Christie, a Republican, at 53.1 degrees on a notional thermometer meant to measure the warmth and favorability of their feelings toward major US political figures. Mrs. Clinton, a Democrat, came in a tick behind, at 52.1 degrees.
鈥淔ormer Secretary of State Hillary Clinton鈥檚 score is not surprising given her lengthy political career and especially strong support among Democrats and women,鈥� said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a statement. 鈥淏ut Gov. Christie鈥檚 rating is impressive given that his experience 鈥� less than four years as governor 鈥� pales compared to Mrs. Clinton鈥檚 r茅sum茅.鈥�
A surprising third in was Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) of Massachusetts, who ranked at 49.2 degrees. President Obama was tied for fourth, at 47.6, the same hotness quotient earned by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) of New York.
Sixth was Sen. Ted Cruz (R) of Texas, at 46.8.
The lowest-ranking, coolest politicians were all congressional leaders. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi was 38.4, Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell at 37.5, House Speaker John Boehner at 36.7, and Senate majority leader Sen. Harry Reid a frigid 33.8. Wow, barely above freezing.
OK, we鈥檝e got some comments here. First, this is a clever way to rank public figures, and it gets attention in the summer, but it鈥檚 kind of a stunt. It鈥檚 like a Bruce Springsteen Christmas song. As a one-off it鈥檚 nice, but let鈥檚 not make it a habit.
Second, 鈥渉ot politician鈥� is an oxymoron to many Americans. We had to say that.
Finally, the results of this survey are squishy for all but the top figures. That鈥檚 because the percentage of respondents who said they did not have an opinion about the relative hotness of many of the listed politicians was so high.
For example, virtually all the respondents had an opinion about Mr. Obama. But 21 percent answered 鈥渄o not know鈥� when asked their hotness rating of Christie.
We鈥檙e sure Quinnipiac鈥檚 numbers are accurate. We鈥檙e just saying, how hot can you be when one-quarter of Americans don鈥檛 really know who you are?
For Senator Cruz, 60 percent of respondents answered 鈥渄on鈥檛 know.鈥� And Maryland Gov. Martin O鈥橫alley (D) may need to get moving if he really wants to run for president. While his hotness rating was a middle-of-the-pack 45.7, a very high 78 percent of respondents said they did not know him well enough to offer an opinion.
