Whose death would be most significant?

A question brought about for obvious reasons.

Put this on whatever scale you want: U.S., world, whatever.

I would posit that on any scale, Barack Obama would be No. 1, and you could make a strong case for the other three members of his immediate family being positions 2-4.

Other candidates in my book, at least for a top-10 list:

Nelson Mandela
Queen Elizabeth II
Britney
Madonna
Kim Jong-Il
Hugo Chavez
Vladimir Putin
Sarah Palin
John McCain
Either George Bush

 

britney, madonna and sarah palin = what three things don't belong

 

I would take Mandela and the Queen off the list. Part of what makes deaths big news is you don't expect them to die.

 

Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods

 

See, I thought about that. But expectation is only one part of it. Ed McMahon and Bea Arthur were old, too, but their deaths were still news. And actually, I don't think that many people expect the queen to shuffle off anytime soon.

tx, I can see your argument. But I think all three would attract enormous attention. And I think Madonna, in particular, was nearly as revolutionary as Jackson, and if she died next week, it would be a big shock.

Good call on Jordan and Woods.

 

"significant" is a key word.
Queen Elizabeth II is big, but Obama would cross more boundaries.
And Muhammad Ali is probably bigger than almost everyone but Obama.

Tiger and Michael Jordan should also be on the list.

 

Bill Clinton would certainly be up there.

 

Paul McCartney.

EDIT: Hank Aaron, too.

 

Ali was the first guy I thought of.

 

For non-sports fans, I think Ali would be in the "Really, I thought he was already dead." category.

 

Britney would get the most points in a death pool. Does that count for anything?

 

I'm really mad I didn't get 50 for Jackson. That should have been a gimme.