Posted on 12/14/2009 8:46:28 AM PST by kristinn
Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40th President of the United States and out of office for twenty years, still has the landslide support of the American people that helped him win two historic terms in the 1980s.
An overlooked poll released last week by Public Policy Polling of over 1200 registered voters showed the Republican icon Reagan was the most popular of the five most recent presidents with 41 percent, impeached Democrat Bill Clinton was a distant second at 27 percent.
The current occupant of the Oval Office, Barack Obama, came in third with 22 percent, thanks to a splintering of support from African-Americans. Only 64 percent named the first African-American president their favorite. Interestingly, 19 percent of African-Americans named Republican presidents their favorite (Reagan-9%, Bush 41-5%, Bush 43-5%) with Clinton being selected by 18%.
Even more distressing for Obama, he was named the second worst president by 37% of those surveyed, barely edging out George W. Bush who was named by 38%.
Nine percent of African-American voters named Obama as the worst, as did 14% of Democrats.
Reagan passed away in 2004. He is the only former president in the survey not still alive to burnish their legacy.
During the last presidential campaign, there was an argument among Republicans about whether the 'era of Reagan' was over.
The standard of Reagan was fiercely upheld by Rush Limbaugh against the likes of Newt Gingrinch:
...Newt could have just as easily said here that conservative principles don't change, that the Reagan coalition is simply looking for leadership and that we need to bring more creative policy alternatives to the table than we have in the recent past. But that's not what he said. He said, "The era of Reagan is over. ... It's the end of the Reagan era." It is not. If the Reagan era is over, if the Reagan coalition is dead, what replaced it? Could somebody tell me? Precisely nothing has replaced it, and that's why so many people are scratching their heads, why so many people are a little nervous, because there isn't any real leadership out there that causes people and inspires people to get behind it and go rah-rah and make certain things happen.
mean, is there a Gingrich coalition that has replaced the Reagan coalition? For that matter, what is the McCain coalition? If we're going to have a new era, what is the McCain era? What is the Huckabee era? What is their winning coalition? They don't have one. You know, all this sounds like Third Way kind of talk, the triangulation of the Clinton years in the nineties. But I don't know what the McCain era would be, and I don't know what the Huckabee coalition is. They don't have a coalition. They're out trying to get votes of independents and Democrats. They're pandering to moderates and independents. Folks, I just want you to think about this: What happens if either of these two guys happen to win, attracting the votes of independents, moderates, the Jell-Os, and Democrats? Does that not equal the demise of the Republican Party?
... Defending liberty takes leadership and guts. Promoting Big Government doesn't. Promoting Big Government is liberalism, and that's easy. It's one of the easiest things that you can do, to run out and simply say, "Well, government's going to fix this. I'm going to have to a plan here. My plan's going to do this, and it involves the government." If conservatism is dead, and if the Reagan era is dead, then I assume that this means the Declaration of Independence is dead as well, that the era of the Declaration has come and gone. Now, what we actually have going on now are people posing as serious thinkers (a common thread in all of this, folks) that conservatism is dead. By the way, that's what the Reagan coalition is, after all. The major elements of conservatism combined into a political movement, is what Reaganism was and of course they're now saying, "That era is gone. We need to replace it with something else." (sigh)
Well, conservatism isn't dead because it cannot be dead. Conservatism is not manmade. Conservatism is a philosophy. It's not a scheme. It's not a plan to figure out what the American people need and want, and then give it to them. That's populism! Conservatism is a philosophy based on God-given natural rights. The Declaration of Independence, is that dead? Of course not! What's dead is leadership on the Republican side, and because there is a lack of leadership of someone who the substantive understanding of liberty and the political skills to advance it, we get all this cockamamie nonsense about the death of our principles. Our principles are not dead! Our principles cannot die.
The PPP survey was released December 11th. No mention of Reagan's overwhelming popularity in the era of Obama was reported in the media.
A lot of folks at FR don’t trust the PPP polls and consider it liberal leaning. If this poll was done by PPP then it seems to validate Reagan’s legacy even more.
Conservatism is not dead, despite every wish of the MSM.
Conversely, I remember 1994 when people were saying liberalism is dead. Rush kept saying, you need to educate people or it will come roaring back. These things are never dead.
Not possible. All the RINOs say the era of Reagan is over.
“second worst president by 37% of those surveyed, barely edging out George W. Bush who was named by 38%”
Just wait until he forces more socialist hell on Americans.
Now, how does this finding square with Obama's alleged "98% Strongly Approve" number among blacks?
I find this very curious.
Thanks, kristinn, I needed this... Last night, I was skipping around the TV guide and landed on the History Channel’s “Presidents” just as the segment on Reagan was starting up. Of course, they had people like David Gergen commenting on things like “he wasn’t very smart.... he wasn’t very alert....” Made me want to puke.
I went to the History Channel just before your posting to see if I could comment some place but if they have a place, I couldn’t find it.
Ronald Wilson Reagan: the best there ever was... and unfortunately, I believe, the best there ever will be.
He’s the only one worth a damn in my lifetime... Maybe Nixon, but He was out of office by the time I was 3. Other than him and Reagan, its been aweful to mediocre for the rest. With Carter being the worst, until this latest doofus was elected.
the democrats could lie about the Clinton Camelot for years if they didn’t reject them in the primaries last year.
The Fruit Loops on the right that made those statements about Reaganism being dead, or we need to move on, didn’t seem to understand that Reagan was a strong supporter of our Founding Fathers and our founding documents and ideals.
How are we supposed to move on from that? It displays a serious lack of understanding.
Notice the question about 2008:
Obama 47
McCain 45
Don’t remember 8
Jimmy Carter, the previous hands down worse President brought us Ronald Regan. If we can survive, Obama and his communist leaning (or in some cases extreme communists) administration will bring someone forward. Right now, I see Sarah Palin as the only one who can think like we do, not like Washington does.
Two words:
Mount Rushmore
Glad to see that my political hero is still alive in hearts and minds.
I’m looking for (and hoping we can find) political candidates who espouse the standards that Ronald Reagan brought to the office of President.
I LOVE it. To paraphrase Rush “The truth doesn’t need a majority to succeed.”
I was born half-way through Carter’s term. Thank goodness my memories of who the president was didnt kick in until 1981.
Thanks for this kristinn.
Boy, ain’t that the truth...a very unusual poll from PPP, which I always think leans a bit left...things MUST be bad for the ONE...magritte
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