What a lot of whaddle. The US. Their starting is point is where the country had a President who was hated and their end point is a President half the world swoons over. It's just a popularity contest, that's all.
$1:
For the first time since 2005 when Simon Anholt--an independent policy adviser to 20 national, regional and city governments--started conducting the survey, the U.S. has been named the most admired country in the world, climbing six spots in the rankings from 2008. Rounding out the top five are other beloved countries like France, Germany, the U.K. and Japan.