If a new national poll can be believed, most Americans are not very knowledgeable about the people pictured on their currency - except for George Washington and the $1 bill. Some 79 percent know that, but only 48 percent know that Lincoln is on the five; 20 percent know Alexander Hamilton is on the 10; and 16 percent know Andrew Jackson is on the 20.
The poll, including 1,006 telephone interviews, half with women and half with men, was conducted by the PLUS ATM network, which regularly surveys what people know about the money they get from an automated teller machine. The results also showed that one of four Americans would prefer to see a modern figure pictured on American paper currency.When asked if the picture of a more current personality should appear on at least one bill, 25 percent of Americans answered yes. The easy winner, with 15 percent expressing a preference for him, was John F. Kennedy, which shows that his powerful image still haunts the political landscape. President Bush, who seems terribly unpopular right now, was next with 10 percent.
Even though Bill Clinton is leading Bush in political polls, only 0.5 percent of those polled would select him to appear on the currency. That seems to suggest that being president is still different than running for president when it comes to currency, but the poll was taken before the National Democratic Convention gave Clinton a big bounce.
Ross Perot was preferred by 4 percent of the respondents, but the poll was taken almost two weeks before he dropped out of the presidential race.
Martin Luther King Jr. was mentioned by 10 percent - a tie with Elvis Presley. Ronald Reagan was next with 6 percent; Franklin D. Roosevelt, 3 percent; Dwight D. Eisenhower, 2 percent; Jesus/God, 2 percent; Michael Jordan 2 percent and Harry Truman, 2 percent.
Very interesting. Getting 1 percent of all mentions were Jimmy Carter, Billy Graham, Albert Einstein, Jesse Jackson, Madonna, Richard Nixon, Teddy Roosevelt, Norman Schwarzkopf, Mother Teresa and John Wayne.
Although the majority, 60 percent, prefer political figures for currency, 20 percent of total mentions were entertainment figures, showing how entertainment dominates our lives. Besides Elvis, John Wayne and Madonna, a number of votes were cast for Paula Abdul, Walt Disney, Bart Simpson, Oprah Winfrey, Mel Gibson and Kevin Costner.
Sports figures did not do well in the poll, collecting only 3 percent of total mentions, with Michael Jordan getting the most, 2 percent, with some preferences for Babe Ruth and Pete Rose.
Another 16 percent preferred people from other fields. Leading the religious figures with 2 percent was Jesus/God, with Mother Teresa, Billy Graham and Pope John Paul II also mentioned. Finally, there were Albert Einstein, Malcolm X and Santa Claus.
So what does all this mean?
Since most who expressed a preference didn't know whose pictures are currently on our currency, it suggests that some people really don't care very much. It's hard to believe that anyone would seriously suggest Bart Simpson, Madonna or Santa Claus as images to imprint on our money.
But the fact that 60 percent preferred political leaders suggests that those who took it seriously were trying to memorialize someone - and JFK won handily on that score.
It's intriguing that Franklin D.
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Roosevelt, regularly judged as one of our two or three greatest presidents by historians - while Kennedy is much farther down the line - and who was considered "president for life" after 1932 - would score so low.
FDR's power over the American psyche may finally be over - but we still long for JFK.