Commentary

Are you ready to play ‘The Feud?’

Game shows seem to be popular these days with several new shows created over the last several years. I like these new shows, but must admit the old standards are my favorites.

One such standard is the show originally hosted by Richard Dawson of “Hogan’s Heroes” fame n Family Feud. Producers ask questions to a studio audience and the contestants must guess the top answers to the survey questions to win. I admit I’m pretty good at guessing the answers from my armchair, meaning I can think like a studio audience. But, when guessing the top answers from a survey of the general public, I admit defeat.

The Associated Press and America Online News surveyed 1,004 Americans Dec. 19-21. The top five answers are below… are you ready to “play the feud?” (Here’s where the catchy music plays and we clap our hands… you get the picture.)

Can you guess the top responses to these questions?

Question 1: If you were asked to name a famous person to be the biggest villain of the year, whom would you choose?

Question 2: If you were asked to name a famous person to be the biggest hero of the year, whom would you choose?

Question 3: If you had to choose, which celebrity would you say was the best role model this year?

Question 4: And, if you had to choose, which celebrity would you say was the worst role model this year?

When people were asked to name the villain that first came to mind, President George W. Bush far outdistanced even Osama bin Laden, the terrorist leader in hiding, and former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who is scheduled for execution.

The president was also picked as hero of the year, albeit by a much smaller margin. In the poll, 13 percent named him as their favorite while 6 percent cited the troops in Iraq.

Here are the top five responses to the AP-AOL survey:

Question 1:

• George W. Bush, 25 percent

• Osama bin Laden, 8 percent

• Saddam Hussein, 6 percent

• President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, 5 percent

• Kim Jong Il, North Korean leader, 2 percent

Question 2:

• George W. Bush, 13 percent

• Soldiers/troops in Iraq, 6 percent

• Oprah Winfrey, 3 percent

• Barack Obama, 3 percent

• Jesus Christ, 3 percent

Question 3:

• Oprah Winfrey, 29 percent

• Michael J. Fox, 23 percent

• George Clooney, 12 percent

• Angelina Jolie, 8 percent

• Brad Pitt, 2 percent

Question 4:

• Britney Spears, 29 percent

• Paris Hilton, 18 percent

• Mel Gibson, 12 percent

• Tom Cruise, 9 percent

• Michael Richards, 6 percent

If you correctly guessed these answers from ordinary Americans you did better than me. The soldiers in Iraq and Britney Spears were the only answers I guessed right … so in the future, I think I’ll stick to studio audiences.