Roosevelt, Kennedy Most Positively Rated Recent Presidents (Reagan a solid third)

Gallup News Service ^ | June 11, 2004 | Jeffrey M. Jones

[RWR8189]

Reagan a solid third

PRINCETON, NJ -- Ronald Reagan's recent death brought discussions about his historical legacy to the forefront of the news this week. A new Gallup Poll shows that the public rates Reagan rather favorably in a historical light, but Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy are rated even more highly. A majority of Americans say each of those presidents will be viewed as outstanding or above average in history. No other recent president from Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush receives as high a rating as those three do.

In a June 3-6 poll, Gallup asked Americans how 10 recent presidents will go down in history -- "as an outstanding president, above average, average, below average, or poor." The list included each president from Kennedy to the current president, with the addition of Roosevelt.

2004 Jun 3-6

Out-standing

Above average
Average	Below average	Poor	Net Score (positive- negative)
	%	%	%	%	%
John F. Kennedy	23	55	19	2	*	+76
Franklin D. Roosevelt	24	53	17	1	1	+75
Ronald Reagan	15	43	31	6	4	+48
George H.W. Bush	3	23	55	12	6	+8
Bill Clinton	9	29	31	18	13	+7
Jimmy Carter	5	22	48	17	7	+3
Gerald Ford	2	12	66	13	4	-3
Lyndon Johnson	2	16	51	18	6	-6
George W. Bush	6	25	30	23	15	-7
Richard Nixon	3	11	34	31	20	-37

It is clear that the public regards three of the presidents as head and shoulders above the rest -- Kennedy, Roosevelt, and Reagan. Seventy-eight percent rate Kennedy as outstanding or above average and 77% do the same for Roosevelt, while only 2% give both of those presidents below-average or poor ratings. Fifty-eight percent of Americans rate Reagan positively and 10% rate him negatively. Reagan died on June 5, on the third day of the poll's field period. An internal analysis of the day-by-day results shows, as one might expect, that news of his death caused his ratings to increase on Saturday and Sunday. Even prior to that news, however, the data showed a majority of Americans rating him positively.

The elder George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter all receive slightly more positive than negative ratings, while Gerald Ford, Johnson, and George W. Bush receive slightly negative ratings. But the dominant perception -- shared by a majority of Americans -- is that the elder Bush, Ford, and Johnson were "average" presidents. A near majority, 48%, says the same about Carter.

Clinton and George W. Bush's ratings, on the other hand, are marked by a decided lack of consensus. Substantial proportions of Americans give both of these presidents positive and negative ratings -- Clinton is rated positively by 38% of Americans and negatively by 31%, Bush gets positive ratings from 31% of Americans and negative ratings from 38%. This division of opinion reflects the fact that while in office, Democrats rated Clinton positively and Republicans rated him negatively. So far, George W. Bush's ratings have shown an even higher degree of partisan polarization than Clinton's.

Richard Nixon is the only president to receive substantially more negative than positive ratings. This suggests that Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal still overwhelms his accomplishments as president, such as restoring relations with China. A majority of Americans, 51%, give Nixon below-average or poor ratings.

These results generally echo those found when Gallup asks Americans, without prompting, to name the greatest U.S. president. Gallup has asked this question periodically since 1999, most recently in November 2003. Kennedy, Roosevelt, and Reagan, along with Abraham Lincoln, have consistently ranked in the top five whenever that question has been asked.

Perceptions Are Highly Partisan

[RWR8189]

2004 Jun 3-6	Out-standing	Above average	Average	Below average	Poor	Net Score (positive- negative)
	%	%	%	%	%
John F. Kennedy	23	55	19	2	*	+76
Franklin D. Roosevelt	24	53	17	1	1	+75
Ronald Reagan	15	43	31	6	4	+48
George H.W. Bush	3	23	55	12	6	+8
Bill Clinton	9	29	31	18	13	+7
Jimmy Carter	5	22	48	17	7	+3
Gerald Ford	2	12	66	13	4	-3
Lyndon Johnson	2	16	51	18	6	-6
George W. Bush	6	25	30	23	15	-7
Richard Nixon	3	11	34	31	20	-37

Table got botched

[RWR8189]

Gallup Ping

FReepmail me if you want to be on or off the list.

[thegreatbeast]

Silly, stupid poll. Roosevelt was responsible for introducing socialism into the US and Kennedy was a disaster- acting recklessly, making major mistakes and nearly pushing us into a nuclear confrontation.

[Huck]

Look at GWB. Ouch!

[God luvs America]

If Kennedy wasn't assassinated what would his numbers look like?

For the life of me I cannot understand how anyone would consider Jimmy Carter anything other than truly disgraceful.

[Ebenezer]

FDR's popularity I can understand given his 12 years in office during the Great Depression and World War II, even when measures he took to handle both events were questionable. But JFK?

[jwalsh07]

The only thing this poll shows is the ignorance of a large portion of American citizens. Sorry but thats the way I feel. Lyndon Johnson is by far the worst President ever to enter the oval office. His rating should be no rating.

[gathersnomoss]

whatever...............

[CasearianDaoist]

40 years from JFK will be a cipher - his fame merely the result the propaganda organs of his father and his party.

[Ebenezer]

"40 years from JFK will be a cipher - his fame merely the result the propaganda organs of his father and his party."

That's just it! JFK's image is all propaganda-created, just like that idealized art form from Soviet times that was euphemistically called "socialist realism".

[plain talk]

Not sure what the problem is but the public on average does NOT consider G. W. Bush below Lyndon Johnson. Not sure where they screwed up but the bottom line result is wrong.

[plain talk]

... to add to previous post, any poll that shows G. W. Bush below Gerald Ford is certainly suspect.

[gathersnomoss]

Maybe GWB could overtake Clinton in this poll if he were to...

Get numerous BJ's and back door tricks from a young staffer in the White House
Sell secrets to the Chinesse
Screw around on his wife
Loose the SS when leaving the WH on little personal trips
Loose the football
Reside over a human BBQ within the US
Turn his back on terrorist attacks
Turn a funeral into a rip-roaring party
Have his wife try to push Universal Health Care on the public
Have his wife oversee the placement of pornographic ornaments on the WH Christmas Tree
Disrespect the military

etc, etc, etc.

[Dr Snide]

are you kidding me, Carter in a landslide is the worst president ever. Johnson was bad but Carter was a special kind of incompetent that only comes around once every two hundred years or so. I mean really, a string of foreign policy failures along with a domestic policy highlighted by double digit inflation, double digit interest rates, and double digit unemployement (hey Carter hit a triple double)is in a class all by itself (thank God).

[Law is not justice but process]

The difference is the press has done everything in their power to bring up W's negatives for the last 10 months. The press did the same for Nixon for 30 years. The press did it for Reagan, but his personality and the recency of his death mitigated. The press never did it for the others.

It is concrete evidence of what we need to overcome before November.

[Corin Stormhands]

Kennedy's assassination turned him into a hero. Otherwise, he'd be at the bottom of the heap.

[jwalsh07]

Lyndon Johnson sent 50,000 of our brothers to die In Vietnam knowing he was never going to attempt to win the war.

Lyndon Johnson destroyed the black American family with his Great Society substituting the state for Daddy.

Lyndon Johnson destroyed urban America for 6 generations and counting.

He was a liar , a scoundrel and a crook.

Carter was inept and misguided but he was not evil. Johnson was an evil sonuvabitch.

[jocon307]

Truman, Eisenhower, what are they, chopped liver? They only finished the job in WWII, that's all. And see, I'm bi-partisan!

[Ebenezer]

"Roosevelt was responsible for introducing socialism into the US...."

You can argue that. The behemoth Federal government we have today is pretty much a legacy of Roosevelt's (with some later "assistance" from LBJ). Unfortunately, none of his successors were able (or cared) to either stem or reverse its growth. Even Ronald Reagan, despite his good intentions and sincere distaste for big government, was unsuccessful.