Primeval Papa links to a recent survey that says that atheists are no longer the most distrusted people on the planet. For the first time since the question has been asked, a majority of people would be willing to vote for an atheist for president.
As I noted in my comment, being an atheist myself (small “a” version) I don’t have a problem with someone who does not hold a belief in a divine creator still being a moral and trustworthy individual. However, the Big “A” evangelical Atheists who hold the belief that THERE IS NO GOD! rub me the wrong way. With sandpaper. Just like Fred Phelps does. So it depends on what kind of “avowed atheist” is running.