Historians rank Reagan #8 among presidents

Wall Street Journal ^ | November 16, 2000

[Cableguy]

More than 3 years old, but still valid. Clinton should go down next time, given his failures on Al Qaeda and North Korea. Reagan will probably move up.

------------------ The Wall Street Journal Survey on Presidents

RANK NAME MEAN GREAT 1 George Washington 4.92 2 Abraham Lincoln 4.87 3 Franklin Roosevelt 4.67 NEAR GREAT 4 Thomas Jefferson 4.25 5 Theodore Roosevelt 4.22 6 Andrew Jackson 3.99 7 Harry Truman 3.95 8 Ronald Reagan 3.81 9 Dwight Eisenhower 3.71 10 James Polk 3.70 11 Woodrow Wilson 3.68 ABOVE AVERAGE 12 Grover Cleveland 3.36 13 John Adams 3.36 14 William McKinley 3.33 15 James Madison 3.29 16 James Monroe 3.27 17 Lyndon Johnson 3.21 18 John Kennedy 3.17 AVERAGE 19 William Taft 3.00 20 John Quincy Adams 2.93 21 George Bush 2.92 22 Rutherford Hayes 2.79 23 Martin Van Buren 2.77 24 William Clinton 2.77 25 Calvin Coolidge 2.71 26 Chester Arthur 2.71 BELOW AVERAGE 27 Benjamin Harrison 2.62 28 Gerald Ford 2.59 29 Herbert Hoover 2.53 30 Jimmy Carter 2.47 31 Zachary Taylor 2.40 32 Ulysses Grant 2.28 33 Richard Nixon 2.22 34 John Tyler 2.03 35 Millard Fillmore 1.91 FAILURE 36 Andrew Johnson 1.65 37 Franklin Pierce 1.58 38 Warren Harding 1.58 39 James Buchanan 1.33

[Bonaventure]

This seems about right. Reagan may belong above Truman.

[nuffsenuff]

Reagan needs to be in the Great category at Number 3.

Clinton and Carter need to be bumped down.

[Servant of the 9]

RANK	NAME	MEAN
GREAT
1	George Washington	4.92
2	Abraham Lincoln	4.87
3	Franklin Roosevelt	4.67
NEAR GREAT
4	Thomas Jefferson	4.25
5	Theodore Roosevelt	4.22
6	Andrew Jackson	3.99
7	Harry Truman	3.95
8	Ronald Reagan	3.81
9	Dwight Eisenhower	3.71
10	James Polk	3.70
11	Woodrow Wilson	3.68
ABOVE AVERAGE
12	Grover Cleveland	3.36
13	John Adams	3.36
14	William McKinley	3.33
15	James Madison	3.29
16	James Monroe	3.27
17	Lyndon Johnson	3.21
18	John Kennedy	3.17
AVERAGE
19	William Taft	3.00
20	John Quincy Adams	2.93
21	George Bush	2.92
22	Rutherford Hayes	2.79
23	Martin Van Buren	2.77
24	William Clinton	2.77
25	Calvin Coolidge	2.71
26	Chester Arthur	2.71
BELOW AVERAGE
27	Benjamin Harrison	2.62
28	Gerald Ford	2.59
29	Herbert Hoover	2.53
30	Jimmy Carter	2.47
31	Zachary Taylor	2.40
32	Ulysses Grant	2.28
33	Richard Nixon	2.22
34	John Tyler	2.03
35	Millard Fillmore	1.91
FAILURE
36	Andrew Johnson	1.65
37	Franklin Pierce	1.58
38	Warren Harding	1.58
39	James Buchanan	1.33
The number listed above is the mean score of all the scholars' rating of each president. On this scale, five is the highest possible score.

[2banana]

William Clinton = average? The average president gets impeached?

[bigeasy_70118]

The fact that there isn't a separate category called Abject Failure and Total Disgrace with the name of William Jefferson Clinton means this list is without merit.

Reagan should be in the top three, IMHO.

And what the hell is Woodrow Wilson doing so high?

[sawmill trash]

How did klintoon stay out of the FAILURE column ?

[Cableguy]

Remember, this is a survey of historians, many of whom are liberal.

[Maceman]

I think Silent Cal Coolidge deserves to be ranked as near great. If he were running today, I think most Freepers would wildly support him.

[Recovering_Democrat]

Seems about right...though I might make him trade places with Teddy R.

[dirtboy]

Bill Clinton at average. Jimmy Carter at below average. Both should be well-embedded in FAILURE.

Calvin Coolidge at average. Reagan at near great.

Yep, this must be the same bunch of historians who signed that letter that Clinton shouldn't be impeached.

[wrathof59]

and also disbarred from his home state during his presidency, which is also a total failure.

[Slipperduke]

Now, I'm just being objective here so don't flame me, but the full article cites Clinton's 'wearing of short shorts' as one of his major failings.

By that rationale, Bush Jnr's Sedgeway/Mountian Bike/ Pretzel Choking/Dropping the Dog on his head antics could put him in the bottom 3.

Wouldn't this be a better survey if they ignored trivia and just concentrated on the policy?

Very interesting table though, thanks for this. Guided me nicely to the end of another working day!

[goodnesswins]

OKAY...Let's RE-TITLE This LIST.....

Intellectual SNOBS opine about how THEY THINK President's rank.....

[AmishDude]

Thanks. I would take Truman out of the top 8, but the remaining 7 are the top 7 (without regard to order) in my book. The greatness of a president can often be measured about the era (good or bad) that he ushered in -- how he influenced presidencies to come. On that scale, Washington is always #1, FDR should rank high as well as Jackson, Reagan and TR. Lincoln and Jefferson were influential but they didn't have their own "era". Washington was the model until Jackson, Jackson was the model until the Civil War, it was really a mish-mash (there wasn't a Lincolnite president after Lincoln) until TR, who influenced until FDR, who reigned until Reagan, who changed the world.

And it should be noted that FDR's, Lincoln's and Truman's presidencies were driven by war. Reagan could have very easily passed the buck on the USSR to the next generation, but he was proactive. That's key and what makes him comparable to Jefferson and TR only. And he comes out much better compared to them.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Any survey that doesn't have Calvin Coolidge in the top three is suspect, imho.

[Recovering_Democrat]

James Polk was a good president.

And Chester Alan Arthur ought to be ranked higher than "average". At least higher than Clinton. Arthur came in on a fluke: Garfield's assassination. Everyone thought he was going to be a corrupt administrator, and he wasn't. He rose to the occasion.

Impeached42, otoh, came in promising, "the most ethical administration ever", and he was rotten to the core.

[oceanview]

Eisenhower should be lower - they are including his military service as part of his presidency. Had it not been for the decision to drop the bomb on Japan, Truman would have been lowered.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Only a lefty would think of FDR as "near great". He'll come down dramatically as time goes by.

[mak5]

I would drop Truman, Kennedy and Johnson and raise Polk, Reagan and Ford, who did the best with what he had at the time. We can see now that Carter was worse than below average.