Retrospective Approval Ratings for Presidents
percentage who approved of each president
Posted on 06/07/2004 12:35:02 PM PDT by quidnunc
Princeton, NJ – Ronald Reagan, the nation's 40th president, became one of the nation's most revered public figures in recent years, a distinct turnabout from the more routinely average ratings he received while he served in office between 1981 and 1989. Reagan's job approval ratings in his first years in office were hurt by the bad economy, and the last years of his administration were marred by the negative fallout from what came to be known as the Iran-Contra affair. Nevertheless, Americans have more recently upgraded their retrospective approval of the job he did as president, and now routinely think of Reagan as one of the nation's more outstanding presidents. Reagan has appeared in the Top 10 of Gallup's annual Most Admired Man list more than 30 times, more often than any other person except evangelist Billy Graham.
Reagan was not an extraordinarily well-regarded president during his eight years in office. He averaged a 53% job approval rating during his presidency, slightly below average for all U.S. presidents for which Gallup has recorded job approval ratings.
Reagan's ratings were higher than the averages of his three immediate predecessors — Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and Richard Nixon, supporting the arguments of those who contend that one of Reagan's major contributions was to restore confidence in the presidency after the battering it took in the 1970s. But the two presidents who followed Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, each had higher average ratings than Reagan, as did three earlier presidents — Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and Dwight Eisenhower.
That's not to say Reagan didn't have periods of time during his administration in which he received solidly impressive ratings. He did. But Reagan was bedeviled at the beginning of his administration by Americans' major concerns about the economy, and at the end of his administration by public concerns about the Iran-Contra affair.
In the most general sense, Americans' approval of the job being done by Reagan as president during his eight years in office can be described as a bell-shaped curve of sorts, with Reagan's ratings starting low, rising in late 1983 and in 1984 (just in time for his successful 1984 re-election bid), and then falling in the last years of his administration.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at gallup.com ...
"Reagan’s image improved substantially in the years after he left office"
Or maybe after he left office the press no longer felt compelled to continue to lie and distort President Reagan's image...
Or comparison. Look who he was compared to in 1992 through 2002 (hint; Mr. 17% of the eligible vote).
The Idiots at gallup said:
"But the two presidents who followed Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, each had higher average ratings than Reagan, as did three earlier presidents — Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and Dwight Eisenhower."
Ummm, excuse me, Morons, but there have been Three Presidents since President Reagan. Interesting how they leave out our Current President George W. Bush.
That's pathetic, IMHO.
Regards,
Joe
There was an AOL poll yesterday asking opinions on Reagan. Something like 80% rated him as "Great", out of more than 200,000 votes cast. Reagan is still loved by America, and the left can't stand it.
I think a lot of people will say they "approve" of the President when they have no intention of ever voting for him. In some cases they say they "approve" of the President to cover up the fact that they have little or no idea what is going on.
An accurate poll would ask likely voters - people who have voted in the last election and plan on voting this time - who they would vote for if the election were today.
Ten years after GW Bush leaves office he will be praised also. GW Bush has more courage in his pinky then Kerry has in his whole skinny body.
Lincoln wasn't all that popular of a president either. If Gallup were around then, Lincoln's ratings would have been lower than Carter's. Greatness can be very unappreciated.
And if people really knew their history, Kennedy would be no where near the top. In truth, his (shortened) term was fairly mediocre.
However, ask 10 or 20 years later and the professors who get the highest ratings are those who challenged their students, demanded a lot and best help them prepare for life and careers. Clinton continues to get high ratings only because so many of his students haven't graduated and joined the real world-- and a good share of them never will.
Clinton had higher ratings than President Reagan? I see, said the blind man who takes Gallup polls. That's why Reagan swept 49 states in 1984 and Clinton never got more than 49% of the vote. Would you like fudge with those numbers?
Reagan had the highest approval ratings on his departure from office of any president for whom data is available.
Guess it didn't take long for those "average" ratings to begin to change.
The only dunces who didn't get it immediately were the einsteins on university faculties, media, and other braindead lefties.
Gallup Ping
FReepmail me if you want to be on or off the list.
"Sometimes the truth is visible only when viewed through the lens of history."
It requires the passage of time before the detractors accept what most of us knew from the beginning......
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