Gee, Beav, your mom is cool

June Cleaver chosen America's top TV mother; Claire Huxtable second

- Associated Press

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Growing up, who didn't look at their television and think, "Wow, I wish my mom were that cool"?

The top mom that Americans would like to have had when they were growing up harks back to the "simpler" days of the 1950s. The Beaver's mom, June Cleaver of "Leave it to Beaver," tops the list.

Coming in at No. 2 is Claire Huxtable, from "The Cosby Show."

In at No. 3 is the lovely lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls, Carol Brady of "The Brady Bunch."

Rounding out the top five television moms are Fonzie's favorite, Marion "Mrs. C" Cunningham of "Happy Days" and Donna Stone of "The Donna Reed Show."

These are the results of a nationwide Harris poll of 2,529 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive April 7-15.

Another '50s icon, Harriet Nelson of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," is sixth. The mom who always had some explaining to do to Ricky, Lucy Ricardo of "I Love Lucy," is No. 7. Tied for eighth are three more modern moms -- the blue-collar Roseanne Connor of "Roseanne"; the mom as best friend, or Lorelei Gilmore of "Gilmore Girls"; and the ever-suffering Bart's mom, Marge Simpson of "The Simpsons."

Favorites among groups

Different groups all have their favorite moms. First, men prefer the '50s mom of June Cleaver, while women go more for the take-charge lawyer Claire Huxtable. Looking at this by race and ethnicity, whites prefer June Cleaver; African Americans and Hispanics have Claire Huxtable as their top mom.

There are also differences by generation. Both baby boomers (ages 44-62) and Matures (ages 63+) have June Cleaver as No. 1. Gen Xers (ages 32-43) go for 1970s icon Carol Brady; the Echo Boomers (18-31) say Lorelei Gilmore is the television mom they wished they had.

While the Obama/Clinton/McCain fight continues, maybe television moms can broker some bipartisanship? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Republicans claim Carol Brady as their favorite, while Democrats cite Claire Huxtable and Independents say June Cleaver is the mom they would have wanted growing up.