US is the most admired country in the world

I find this interesting. US moved up from 7th place in 2008 to first place in 2009 in this poll of admired countries. One of the authors attributes this "astonishing" rise to the election of Obama. Congratulations to the US.
Meanwhile, Canada fell from 4th to 7th.

What I find interesting is not just those results but the idea that the US, which the media says is hated worldwide because of the policies of Bush, ranked 7th in the world. 7th! That is where Canada ranks now. And Canadians think that they are the most admired country in the world. How is it possible for the media to say that the US was despiced when it ranked as high as Canada ranks now?
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/06/survey-us-admired/