Sen. John McCain and Ohio Gov. John Kasich made Fortune magazine's World Greatest Leaders list as the two top American political leaders.
It was Fortune's fourth annual ranking of the World's Greatest Leaders, rated around the lessons of acknowledging reality and offering hope, bringing followers physically together and building bridges to all varying points of view. The magazine said each leader was examined within his or her own field.
"Someone leading a small organization effectively may rank above someone far more famous nudging global issues," said Geoff Colvin, senior editor at large for Fortune "Our point isn't to declare that, say, No. 7 on our list is 'greater' than No. 9. The point is that great leaders can be anywhere – at the helm of a giant corporation, running a rural college, or in a cramped office exerting influence through sheer personal energy."
McCain, the U.S. senator from Arizona and the 2008 Republican nominee for president, was ranked No. 9 on the list. The former Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war, has served six terms in the Senate.
"McCain has become one of the nation's most trusted voices on defense by being both a backer of a strong military and a cautionary voice against ill-advised conflicts," said Fortune. "As chair of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, he's uniquely positioned to help a new administration define what safety means."
Kasich was ranked No. 12 on Fortune's list. He was one of last Republican presidential candidates to drop out in the last year's primary that was won by President Donald Trump.
"Kasich's moderation didn't resonate with Republican voters in last year's presidential primaries. But as the leader of a politically consequential state, the Trump skeptic commands a key platform," said Fortune. "Lately he has used it to rally GOP governors behind preserving the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, which allowed him to secure coverage for nearly 700,000 Ohioans."
Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein was selected as the world's top leader after he led his team to its first Major League Baseball championship since 1908. As a top executive with the Boston Red Sox, he led that squad to its first World Series title in 86 years in 2004.
According to ESPN, though, Epstein rejected such a lofty title.
"Um, I can't even get my dog to stop peeing in the house," Epstein told ESPN. "That is ridiculous. The whole thing is patently ridiculous. It's baseball – a pastime involving a lot of chance. If (Ben) Zobrist's ball is three inches farther off the line, I'm on the hot seat for a failed five-year plan. And I'm not even the best leader in our organization; our players are."
Missing from the list were U.S. presidents – Trump and living former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter. Former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton did not make the list either, despite being the first woman nominated a president by a major political party last year.
Vice President Joe Biden, though, made the list at No. 23, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was No. 31.
Completing the Top 10 "leaders" on the list are: Alibaba chairman Jack Ma, Pope Francis, philanthropist Melinda Gates, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, U.S. National Security Advisor Gen. H.R. McMaster, Taiwan president Tsai Ing-Wen, McCain, and Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel.
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