Published: February 15, 2012
Among Presidents Since WWII, Ronald Reagan is the Best and George W. Bush is the Worst
NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As the nation prepares to celebrate Presidents' Day, it is always interesting to see what people think about some of the past presidents. Looking at all the presidents since World War II, one-quarter of Americans (25%) say Ronald Reagan is the best president, one in five (19%) say Franklin Roosevelt while 15% say it is John Kennedy and 12% say Bill Clinton. The nine other presidents, including Barack Obama, are at 4% or less.
Looking at the flip side, just over one-quarter of U.S. adults (27%) say that George W. Bush was the worst president while just under one-quarter (22%) say Barack Obama is the worst; one in ten (12%) say the worst was Richard Nixon. The ten other presidents are at 5% or less.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,016 adults surveyed online between January 16 and 23, 2012 by Harris Interactive.
Partisan differences
Presidents are elected bearing a party label, so it's not surprising that partisans have different opinions about who the best and worst presidents are. For Republicans, over half (55%) say Ronald Reagan was the best president and almost half (47%) say Barack Obama is the worst president. Among Democrats, there are three presidents bunched near the top for best - Franklin Roosevelt (25%), Bill Clinton (22%) and John Kennedy (18%). It's an easier choice for worst president for Democrats as almost half (48%) say George W. Bush was the worst.
For Independents, there isn't a clear answer for either category. One-quarter of Independents (24%) say Franklin Roosevelt was the best, one in five (21%) say Ronald Reagan was the best and 17% say the best was John Kennedy. Looking at the other side, one-quarter (24%) say George W. Bush was the worst president while one in five Independents (19%) say Barack Obama is the worst.
Best presidents in history
If the list of presidents is expanded to include some of the founding fathers, such as Washington, Jefferson and Adams, as well as other presidents including Lincoln, Wilson and Jackson, the results of who is best change slightly. If we look at a combined best or second best, one-third of Americans (32%) say Abraham Lincoln was the best president, one-quarter (26%) say Ronald Reagan was the best and one in five say George Washington (21%), John Kennedy (21%) and Bill Clinton (19%) were the best presidents.
So What?
History has shown us that a president is best judged years after he has left office. Decisions made while sitting in the Oval Office may be seen as the wrong decision by many Americans at that point in time, but as time passes, the wisdom of some of these hard choices becomes clear. And, the reverse is also true.
TABLE 1
BEST PRESIDENT SINCE WORLD WAR II
"Looking at the list of presidents since World War II, which one do you think is the best president?"
Base: All adults
Jan Jan Jan Party ID
2008 2010 2012
---- ---- ----
Republican Democrat Independent
---------- -------- -----------
% % % % % %
--- --- --- --- --- ---
Ronald Reagan 25 25 25 55 4 21
------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Franklin Roosevelt 21 22 19 9 25 24
------------------ --- --- --- --- --- ---
John Kennedy 15 14 15 8 18 17
------------ --- --- --- --- --- ---
Bill Clinton 11 11 12 3 22 9
------------ --- --- --- --- --- ---
Dwight Eisenhower 4 4 4 5 3 5
----------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Harry Truman 4 4 4 2 7 4
------------ --- --- --- --- --- ---
Barack Obama NA 4 4 1 8 4
------------ --- --- --- --- --- ---
George W. Bush 2 1 2 5 * 2
-------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Jimmy Carter 3 2 2 1 2 2
------------ --- --- --- --- --- ---
Lyndon Johnson 1 2 1 * 1 1
-------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
George H.W. Bush 1 1 1 1 * 1
---------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Richard Nixon 2 1 1 1 * *
------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Gerald Ford 1 * 1 2 * *
----------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Not Sure 10 9 10 7 8 10
-------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Note: Totals may not add to 100% because of rounding.
Note: * indicates less than 0.5%
TABLE 2
WORST PRESIDENT SINCE WORLD WAR II
Looking at the list of presidents since World War II, which one do you think was the worst president?
Base: All adults
Jan Jan Jan Party ID
2008 2010 2012
---- ---- ----
Republican Democrat Independent
---------- -------- -----------
% % % % % %
--- --- --- --- --- ---
George W. Bush 34 31 27 7 48 24
-------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Barack Obama NA 15 22 47 6 19
------------ --- --- --- --- --- ---
Richard Nixon 10 10 12 10 14 13
------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Bill Clinton 17 6 5 6 4 6
------------ --- --- --- --- --- ---
Jimmy Carter 13 10 5 8 2 8
------------ --- --- --- --- --- ---
Ronald Reagan 3 3 4 4 5 3
------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
George H.W. Bush 2 3 4 2 5 4
---------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Lyndon Johnson 3 2 2 1 2 3
-------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
John Kennedy 2 3 2 1 2 2
------------ --- --- --- --- --- ---
Harry Truman * 1 2 1 1 4
------------ --- --- --- --- --- ---
Franklin Roosevelt 1 1 1 1 1 1
------------------ --- --- --- --- --- ---
Gerald Ford 1 1 1 2 1 1
----------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Dwight Eisenhower 1 1 1 2 1 *
----------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Not Sure 13 10 12 8 10 12
-------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Note: Totals may not add to 100% because of rounding.
Note: * indicates less than 0.5%
TABLE 3
BEST PRESIDENTS IN HISTORY
Which one of the following presidents do you think was the best overall president in our history?
Base: All adults
Best or Second Best Best Second Best
------------------- ---- -----------
Jan Jan Jan
2008 2010 2012
---- ---- ----
% % % % %
--- --- --- --- ---
Abraham Lincoln 33 32 32 21 11
--------------- --- --- --- --- ---
Ronald Reagan 25 25 26 15 11
------------- --- --- --- --- ---
George Washington 18 19 21 13 8
----------------- --- --- --- --- ---
John Kennedy 22 17 21 10 11
------------ --- --- --- --- ---
Bill Clinton 17 17 19 8 11
------------ --- --- --- --- ---
Franklin Roosevelt 22 22 17 9 8
------------------ --- --- --- --- ---
Barack Obama NA 9 8 4 4
------------ --- --- --- --- ---
Thomas Jefferson 8 7 6 3 3
---------------- --- --- --- --- ---
George W. Bush 5 4 5 1 4
-------------- --- --- --- --- ---
Harry Truman 6 4 5 2 3
------------ --- --- --- --- ---
Theodore Roosevelt 6 6 5 2 2
------------------ --- --- --- --- ---
Dwight Eisenhower 4 5 4 1 2
----------------- --- --- --- --- ---
Jimmy Carter 3 3 3 1 2
------------ --- --- --- --- ---
George H.W. Bush 2 2 2 * 2
---------------- --- --- --- --- ---
John Adams 1 2 2 * 2
---------- --- --- --- --- ---
Richard Nixon 3 2 2 * 1
------------- --- --- --- --- ---
Andrew Jackson 1 1 1 * *
-------------- --- --- --- --- ---
Lyndon Johnson 1 1 1 * *
-------------- --- --- --- --- ---
Calvin Coolidge * * * * *
--------------- --- --- --- --- ---
Woodrow Wilson * * * * *
-------------- --- --- --- --- ---
Gerald Ford 1 1 * * *
----------- --- --- --- --- ---
Not Sure 9 9 12 8 12
-------- --- --- --- --- ---
Note: Totals for best and second best may not add to 100% because of rounding.
Note: In this question the list included all presidents since Franklin Roosevelt and the other presidents in the table, but not any other presidents
Note: * indicates less than 0.5%
Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between January 16 and 23, 2012 among 2,016 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.
J41215
Q975, 780
The Harris Poll® #16, February 15, 2012
By Regina A. Corso, SVP, Harris Poll, Youth, and Public Relations Research, Harris Interactive
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American and European offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
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