America’s Most Popular Politician: Bill Clinton

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Ben Sklar / Reuters / Corbis

The politician Americans like most isn’t even working in politics anymore.

According to a poll conducted by NBC and the Wall Street Journal, 55% of respondents had a positive opinion of Bill Clinton, by far the highest of any political figure measured. Twenty-three percent of respondents held negative views about the former president. He’s seen a resurgence in popularity — in March 2001, just after he left the White House, he had a 34% positive and 52% negative rating.

(More on TIME.com: See who Bill Clinton finds influential.)

When it comes to Republicans, another technical non-politician saw strong reactions. Sarah Palin had a 30% positive and 48% negative rating. And though the rating skews negative, she had a stronger reaction than any other potential GOP presidential contender.