Rhodes Scholars are selected by state, right? Which would mean that being one from Arkansas isn't nearly as prestigious as being one from New York or California, because you were competing against far fewer people for the "honor".
I don't believe that Rhodes Scholars are selected by state. They are selected by "districts", each of which includes several states. I believe that there are eight districts. For 2002, there were 32 winners.
From the Rhodes Scholarship web site, the requirements include:
Intellectual distinction is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for election to a Rhodes Scholarship. Selection committees are charged to seek excellence in qualities of mind and in qualities of person which, in combination, offer the promise of effective service to the world in the decades ahead. The Rhodes Scholarships, in short, are investments in individuals rather than in project proposals. Accordingly, applications are sought from talented students without restriction as to their field of academic specialization or career plans although the proposed course of study must be available at Oxford, and the applicant's undergraduate program must provide a sufficient basis for further study in the proposed field. Through the years, Rhodes Scholars have pursued studies in all of the varied fields available at the University of Oxford.
Basically, in my opinion, recipients are those who we had in our high school class who were known as brown-nosers.
Past winners include Clinton, Robert Reich, Wes Clark, Paul Sarbanes, Russ Feingold, Walter Isaacson (former chairman and CEO of CNN News Group), Strobe Talbott, Bill Bradley and at least 25 "American Rhodes Scholars Against the War". Are you seeing a trend here?