Editor's Note: Thanks to Guest Author Frederica.
Using the hindsight of time, this is what's wrong with America from a woman's perspective.
The Year was 1988 and Gallup/CNN/USA Today's polled Americans as to who the Most Admired Man of the Year was. I am unclear if the question was in fill in the blank form or if Gallup/CNN/USA Today gave responders a list of options. Either way, this is what Americans came up with 30 years ago.
10. Donald Trump
Whether you love Trump or hate Trump, I think everyone agrees that his treatment of women that he's been in a relationship with has been poor.
And women he's not been in a relationship with has been poor, also. I would continue, but I do not wish to ignite a partisan feeding frenzy. If you don't like my facts, don't bitch at me, send your hate mail to Newsweek or the New York Times.
For Hard-Core Trumpies who are screaming "look at all the women in Trump's Cabinet! Betsy DeVos, Elaine Chao, Gina Haspel..." Stop right there. Once "Grab them by the Pussy" hit public consumption, your arguments for Donald Trump - Champion of Women, became null and void.
9. Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby had everyone fooled. Before Hannibal Burress spoke the truth in 2014, Bill Cosby was a beloved TV Star and stand up comedian.
Even his stand-up comedy mined the innocence of youth.
But in the 5 short years since the first wave of sexual assault allegations came pouring in against Cosby, over 60 women went on the record and showed up at his prison sentencing. Hollywood's "open secret" of Cosby's abhorrent behavior towards women was now open for public consumption.
8. Ted Kennedy
I don't want to hear about Kennedy's politics. Even if it was "just" involuntary manslaughter, murder should disqualify you from running for President. An eloquent speaker, somehow for 50 years Kennedy couldn't figure out how to explain the death of a young woman cut down in her prime.
[Yes, no unexplained murders on the Presidential Resume, that even means you John McAfee.]
7. Lee Iococca
People forget that Iococca was flirting with the Presidency in 1988. Other than multiple marriages, there is no public record of poor respect of women.
Did he champion any women in his corporation? Uhhhh....no.
6. Billy Graham
In hindsight, probably the only one on the list that should still be there using a 2019 lens.
There are a few anecdotal stories about his daughters wanting to be professionals and Billy Graham wanting them to take on more "traditional" female roles, but as a Catholic, even I respect the Evangelical Graham's body of work.
5. Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson is one of those phony-baloney Preachers that talked a good game of respecting women during the day, then went out womanizing when the cameras were turned off at night.
That's not me speculating, the National Enquirer was about ready to out Jackson's behavior when he got ahead of the scandal and held a news conference about his bad habits in 2001. You can read about Jackson's Love Child in the NY Times.
You can argue that all politicians make mistakes, and my argument back would be "fine, but he should have been stripped of his minister's license." He wasn't.
4. Pope John Paul II
Today that would be Saint John Paul II. I liked JP II, hopefully he didn't personally abuse any Nuns, but when I think of John Paul II, I think of a different type of sex abuse scandal: Conservatives Must Face John Paul II's Legacy in Sex Abuse Crisis.
3. George Bush (Sr.)
Even if he was a cad, which I'm not saying that he was, but if he was, he kept it real low key. I don't know why, but I'm not in the mood to talk about Bush 41. In hindsight, should he be on this list? Eh, maybe?
2. Mikhail Gorbachev
I currently do not reside in Russia. I have never visited Russia or any of the Republics of the old Soviet Union. My limits of Russian knowledge extend to the KHL and to a strange fascination with Vladimir Putin.
With that being said, when I googled Mikhail Gorbachev and Women, this short article from the Chicago Tribune popped up from 1987: Gorbechev Views Women.
The Article's closing statement was,''Of course, the issue of Soviet women`s rights hasn`t been raised that much by Gorbachev because there are much more pressing economic and political issues to tend.'' 3 years after the Most Admired Men Poll, the Soviet Union collapsed.
1. Ronald Reagan
Off of the top of my head, I remember Reagan appointed the first woman to the United States Supreme Court. Sandra Day O'Connor took her chair in 1981, but other than that, I remember:
Democrat Women Hated Reagan: Women vs. Reagan
Republican Women Loved Reagan: Reagan Charmed Leading Ladies
Oops, don't read that Daily Mail Article.
While researching this article, I thought it strange that Jackson made the most admired list, but the eventual nominee for the Democrat Party didn't. Then I looked at all the people than ran for President on the Democratic side of the ticket in 1988.
WOW!
Michael Dukakis: It doesn't matter if he treated women well or not, he was a weenie.
Jesse Jackson: We already covered him.
Al Gore: I liked Gore, not enough to vote for him, of course, but I kind of used to like him as a person. At least until he made An Inconvenient Truth. Not because he made it, but because he then sold his TV station to the very Oil Industry that he warned us about. When Al Gore cashed that Al Jazeera check, he was no better than the evil Robber Barons in his documentary.
Dick Gephardt: Retired and became a lobbyist. Typical.
Paul Simon: I liked his music.
Wait, not that Paul SImon? Then who the hell did all those people vote for?
Gary Hart: Let's not bring him up in an article for male role models and sex scandals.
Bruce Babbitt: Who?
Lyndon LaRouche: Nutjob LaRouche passed away earlier this year under a cloud of secrecy. He ran for President 7 times for the Democrat Party between 1980 and 2004.
David Duke: Apparently former Klansman David Duke was a Democrat before he was a Republican.
James Traficant: I'm at a loss for words at this point. Traficant was a Democrat before he was an Independent. Then, when he was an Independent, he went to prison for 7 years.
Douglas Applegate: I give up. How did the Democrat Party not shutter its windows after parading these nincompoops up to the ballot box in 1988.
Article over.