don't poke the bear
Forbes puts Putin ahead of Obama for world's most powerful person
A day after his party was shellacked in the midterms, President Obama is facing another criticism of his leadership — from Forbes' list of the world's most powerful people. In the publication's annual ranking of individuals with the most hard power, Obama came in second to the Russian president for the second year in a row.
Forbes describes its ranking criteria as such:
"This is not a lineup of the most influential or an anointing of the new establishment. It is an evaluation of hard power. We insist the people on our list wield the kind of power that shapes and bends the world, and moves people, markets, armies, and minds." [Forbes]
Rounding out the top five are Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Pope Francis, and German chancellor Angela Merkel, who also leads as the world's most powerful woman. See the full rankings at Forbes.