Forbes Magazine has rated Michelle Obama ahead of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin as the most powerful woman in the world.
Big mistake.
Michelle is named as No.1. Hillary is rated as No. 5, Sarah Palin at No.16
Michelle Obama is an extraordinary woman but would have little impact were she not the wife of the president of the United States.
There is also the reality that while the First Lady can inspire and encourage she cannot actually impact policy in any direct manner
Hillary Clinton,of course, knows that very well and while she was initially in her husband's shadows she has since emerged as a leader in her own right first as a U.S. senator then a presidential candidate and then as Secretary of State.
She is by far the most accomplished woman of her generation.To rate her behind not only Michelle Obama, but Oprah Winfrey too is ludicrous
It is hard to argue, as Forbes do, that a First Lady with no executive power is as powerful as the U.S. Secretary of State who has intervened in some of the world's major trouble spots and has played an increasingly key role in the foreign policy agenda of Barack Obama.
It is also hard to argue that Michelle is more powerful than Sarah Palin who at one point was potentially within a heartbeat of the presidency.
Prior to that she was a popular governor of Alaska, one of the few women to run a statehouse.
Since her presidential run she has become a political phenomenon influencing millions of Americans through her speeches, tweets and television interviews.
Yet she is rated not only behind Michelle Obama but also Lady Gaga,Beyonce and Ellen De Generes
But before some of you say it some liberal agenda, this is Forbes magazine, bastion of conservative politics.
So their choices are bound to be controversial across the board. No question in my mind when it comes to power, Hillary Clinton should be rated first with Palin second.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.KerryLKing | Nov 19, 2010, 10:39 AM EST
Agree with you Niall!!! Hillary should have DEFINITELY" been above Michelle....actually should have been above "any" Obama. If she had been the President (as I had hoped she would have been) the US would have been in better shape than we are now!! So many Americans voted Obama in because "he was good as a speaker"....weel, that doesn't make one a good leader....just a good memorizer of words. And that's how we got into this mess that was left over from Bush and still not corrected by Obama. Let's get Hillary into the White house the next time around....and that'll mean we'll have Bill there too....one of the few Presidents to get us "out of the deficit"...which may now be too late to correct thanks to putting Bush & Obama in power.
maloney | Oct 20, 2010, 11:19 AM EDT
This must have been a most powerful smelling contest.
irishtommy | Oct 19, 2010, 05:12 PM EDT
Absurd is right..what the hell has michelle Obama done for the United States or anywhere else for that matter. Race aside, just because she is the wife of the President (and not a populat fellow) she got voted in by whom ? Lady Gaga and Beyonce at least gave us music.
jakeleg | Oct 18, 2010, 05:42 PM EDT
obsurd is right.............
IrishEagle | Oct 18, 2010, 10:39 AM EDT
The most powerful woman in the world today is Angela Merkel, German Chancellor. Hillary may well be 2nd, but Merkel's Germany is calling the shots on all the fiscal policies that are dominating European politics today.
rcrdskpr@aol.com | Oct 18, 2010, 10:20 AM EDT
racism has nothing to do with it. obama is an inexperienced, no talented, two bit, political opportunist from the sewers of chicago politics. look at his "work history" and training: "community organizer"?, trained at and attended socialist brainwashing seminars while at college, and in chicago. he appointed many of these people to posts. the man is a born again socialist masquerading in the guise of racism.
IrishAndProud | Oct 18, 2010, 12:26 AM EDT
Man oh man did another poster nail it: about Obama, he/she said 'From messiah to pariah in 20 months.' Ain't that the truth. The whole country cannot stand that guy, anymore. What a mistake we made. Fortunately, massive corrective measures begin in earnest on November 2. BTW 123neill, you may also wish to see photographs of dead Jewish kids after the liberal-backed Hamas got through with them.
McNabb1966 | Oct 17, 2010, 09:08 PM EDT
@123Oneill...Typical Lefty response. Everybody is a racist, right? But stop and give some ACTUAL thought and perhaps you can understand that it's racist to assume that the first black president should be placed in a PROTECTED CATEGORY that says he gets to be the ONLY U.S. President who may NOT be challenged or criticized by the people who elected him. Talk about the racism of low expectations! Racism is dreadful...which is why it's amazing that the Left insists on race-baiting at every opportunity. If Michelle Obama qualifies as a "heroine" simply because her husband gets criticized, then I'm sure you agree that Laura Bush was a heroine too, right? Or is intellectual honesty and common sense too dangerous to your fake pretense to "social justice?"
123Oneill | Oct 17, 2010, 08:37 PM EDT
Well, this is me again. I read the comments below made by me. I want to make clearer what I meant by the word "abuse". Michelle has to hear the abuse heaped upon her husband no matter what he does. And, do you know why? I think I do. Whisper, so no one will hear, "Did you know there is a Black man in the White House?" Racism is dreadful. Look up Emmett Till and look at the pictures of what hatred did to that young boy of 14.
123Oneill | Oct 17, 2010, 08:32 PM EDT
Sarah Palin???!!! Are you really taken in by her "I love freedom; I love America!" statements? If you put a man's face or a an old woman's face and body on her, no one, but no one would ever, ever put her in any column of outstanding women. At least Lady Gaga has spoken out and given money for a cause. Palin only takes. As to my opinion, I think Hilarly is the most powerful; I think Michelle is a heroine for many reasons, most of them have to do with the abuse of her husband day in and day out.
chesapeake | Oct 17, 2010, 08:21 PM EDT
So many outstanding women werw passed over in a continuing effort by the media to promote the Obama family. She has done virtually nothing, while he has done too many things to lower the status of all Americans. By the time he is done we may never fully recover. The first lady is woefully inadequate when compared to those who came beforee her.
willieboy | Oct 17, 2010, 07:17 PM EDT
WHO THE HELL READS OR GIVES A DAMN WHAT FORBES THINKS???
mandokeith | Oct 17, 2010, 06:22 PM EDT
Well somebody at Forbes really has their head firmly stuck where the sun don't shine. Kinda like our friend Ciarrai. Well played Niall you hit the nail on the head. This is ludicrous, Lady GaGa? BEAM ME UP SCOTTY!
antoman | Oct 17, 2010, 06:06 PM EDT
has*
antoman | Oct 17, 2010, 06:05 PM EDT
If her next born came out with red curly hair,,the Irish here would know for sure he had Irish blood in him.
Marcella | Oct 17, 2010, 05:51 PM EDT
WHen it comes to women in politics, at least in America sadly, a definite schism and or double standard exists. And in some ways the Forbes list is comparing apples and oranges, both fruits but not alike otherwise. Michelle Obama is and should be listed (if we need another list) due to the capacity her position gives her for influence in our society, politics and culture. As to her being ahead of the Secretary of State - to which audience are we speaking, international politics or our own country. I would think Hilary Clinton has a much broader arena of influence which places her ahead of any other woman in America. But again with Palin on the list it confuses me as to what the criteria is to make this list and who are they influencing. Palin is an annoying ankle biting dog with little focus and or content or substance. Sadly her standing with many who don't think for themselves mean she is a joke to be contended with. Is influence defined by Forbes more synonymous with media exposure?
seanomelbourne | Oct 17, 2010, 05:50 PM EDT
How self absorbed and typical American that only American women can be the most powerful in the world(except no8.).Palin proved how powerless she was during the pres.election she was a heartbeat from utter defeat not winning the election.
ciarrai | Oct 17, 2010, 05:24 PM EDT
Earth to Niall. Pay attention: Sarah Palin is an attractive nitwit who doesn't have a clue. I only hope that she runs for POTUS so that she can be exposed for the empty pantssuit she is. To paraphrase an expression used down in Texas (all hat, no cattle), she is all bullshit, no substance. She couldn't carry Michelle Obama's nail file when it comes to brains, class and accomplishment.
jamthecat | Oct 17, 2010, 04:40 PM EDT
I can understand your point about Hilary, but don't necessarily agree. That Sarah Palin is even on the list is what's ludicrous to me, and you rating her second is hysterically funny. The woman has yet to finish anything she's started, runs about the country anointing Tea Party idiots who've already been chose by their Tea Party followers and consistently proves herself to be of minimal intellect. Her one plus is she knows how to play for the camera. Wow. So does Tina Fey, and to better effect.
maloney | Oct 17, 2010, 01:23 PM EDT
What was the criteria for making this list? O'dud got this one right. m.obama is as useless as the teets on a bore hog.
killowen | Oct 17, 2010, 01:05 PM EDT
Soiled, as from soot; dirty: feet black from working in mines, on railways, building canals etc. Black as a funeral procession —Diane Ackerman [Darkening sky] black as a giant tortoise —Stefan Zweig Black as a heavy smoker’s lungs —Elyse Sommer Black as a manic depressive’s thoughts —Elyse Sommer (The room was) black as an honest politician’s prospects —Dashiell Hammett Black as an undertaker’s hat —Donald Seaman Black as a pine at night —Stephen Vincent Benét (Locks) black as a raven —The Holy Bible/Song of Solomon Black as a stack of black cats in the dark —H. W. Thompson Black as a tar-barrel —Lewis Carroll Black as black —W. B. Yeats (Eyes … ) black as bottomless water —Ellen du Pois Taylor (Eyes) black as caverns —T. Coraghessan Boyle (Black coats were) black as coffins —Rebecca West Black as despair —John Phillips Black as dusk —William Styron Black as ebony —Oscar Wilde Black like an oven (our kin was … ) —The Holy Bible/Lamentations Black as fate —Dame Edith Black as midnight without a moon —Anon Black as murder —Thomas Dekker Black as perjury —Anon (Our hands were) black as potatoes dug from the ground —T. Coraghessan Boyle Black as some charred rafter —W. D. Snodgrass Black as sorrow —Sir Philip Sidney Black as the ace of spades —Anon Black as the devil’s hind foot —T. C. Haliburton Black as the devil’s heart —Ariel Dorfman Black as the head of a hanged man —F. D. Reeve (Black holes,) black as the moments before birth and after death —T. Coraghessan Boyle Black as thunder —William Makepeace Thackeray (Their visages) blacker than coal —The Holy Bible/Lamentation (Deep and) black like an abyss —Aharon Megged Black … like a subway tunnel —William Faulkner It [a room] was black as the inside of a cat —Davis Grubb The sky was as black as a monsoon —Dominique Lapierre
pflynn70 | Oct 17, 2010, 12:41 PM EDT
I'm sure that the people who are looking for jobs, those who are scared to death about this horrible health care being crammed down our throats,are just so happy about this wonderful news.
brondell | Oct 17, 2010, 12:29 PM EDT
I am amused by your brief opinions---I am stunned and dispirited by the benighted shadow racism of the "comments".
MalcomAC | Oct 17, 2010, 12:28 PM EDT
There's no doubt that Michelle Obama has been watered down to seem less threatening, as her campaign against childhood obesity - despite the importance of that issue - has placed her in a familiar role for a first lady - childrens' issues. On paper, it's ludicrous to think someone supposedly focused on this issue is more powerful than the Secretary of State. But the previous two secretaries of state - Colin Powell and Condolezza Rice were both very weak figures when it came to winning battles in the White House over policy. This factor, I think, combined with the undefined nature of the first lady's relationship to the president - it varies from marriage to marriage and also from issue to issue - is what gives her the edge of Clinton. I would actually much prefer MObama as prez than 'Bam. She's much more clearly defined and less evasive, even if I don't always agree with her, I don't doubt where she stands.
jdi2269 | Oct 17, 2010, 12:12 PM EDT
michelle is an "extraordinary woman" !!! Niall....you need to get off the drugs! Michelle has done little, but maybe she is ahead of her husband!
judiron | Oct 17, 2010, 12:12 PM EDT
I agree, Obama is only first because she's the lst lady and black. Black is in you know. She a nothing. I'm not a clinton fan but she certainly has earned what she has. I see nothing in Orphra.
Pittsburghkid | Oct 17, 2010, 12:01 PM EDT
You have to understand America. This all nonsense to sell magazines.
SeamusMor | Oct 17, 2010, 11:43 AM EDT
Control, influence, and authority are the essential elements of power. Clinton and Palin have none of the above. The First Lady has neither control nor authority, but she does have influence over the most powerful man on the planet. Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful woman.
LinLinisme | Oct 17, 2010, 10:14 AM EDT
Big mistake, This woman has done nothing but cause trouble everywhere. Including messing with the schools and other things that she should have stayed away from. She is a big NOTHING
Watchman | Oct 17, 2010, 09:40 AM EDT
Yes. What we need is more lists.
tomgallagher | Oct 17, 2010, 09:28 AM EDT
whoever put that list together must be smoking dope.
danielleryan | Oct 17, 2010, 09:15 AM EDT
Agree with every word you said, as I usually do!
Christisall | Oct 17, 2010, 09:13 AM EDT
Oprah is simply very rich. She is nothing special.
Christisall | Oct 17, 2010, 09:13 AM EDT
Poo on that! Michelle is not respected by the overwhelming majority in the USA. She even said she was never proud of her own country. Now she is trying to order us to eat the way she says. We'll be so thankful when she is out of the white house and then hopefully, the place will be funigated.
borefield | Oct 17, 2010, 09:00 AM EDT
Niall, I agree with you Hillary Clinton is by far the most powerful woman in this country. Agree with her politics or not she had endured and accomplished much, certainly much more than Michelle Obama has. Oprah has earned her spot as a powerful woman. Michelle Obama happens to be the wife of the 1St. black President, she is the 1St. black First Lady, thats about it. Where does she deserve "Powerful'. Forbes must be having a bad day. I don't often agree with you Niall, this time I do.