President Obama has been ranked as the most admired man for the third year in a row, according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll.

The survey showed that  22 percent of Americans esteemed the president the most, followed by 5 percent for George W. Bush and 4 percent for Bill Clinton.

Meanwhile, 17 percent chose Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as America's most admired woman - her ninth year in a row at the top.

She was trailed by Sarah Palin at 12 percent, talk show host Oprah Winfrey at 11 percent, and first lady Michelle Obama at 5 percent.

The survey, conducted Dec. 10-12, was based on telephone interviews with a random sample of 1,019 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.