In Landslide Poll, Ronald Reagan Most Popular Recent President

Monday, December 14, 2009 | Kristinn

[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.

[reagan_fanatic]

This has got to hurt, especially for Zero and Bubba. While Bubba disliked Reagan, Zero HATES him, and to see Reagan as the most popular has got to smart.

[sickoflibs]

Best president in my lifetime, little chance for another and we need one now. (Early on Bush was sold as another Reagan.)

[9YearLurker]

I don’t think Gerry Ford’s going to be doing too much burnishing of his legacy.

[pietraynor]

Another win, for the Gipper.

If it is not feasible to add President Reagan to Mt Rushmore, he should have a mountain carved just for him

[9YearLurker]

But Jimmy Carter is still burnishing away: might as well have included our mediocrity back through the ‘60s while they were at it.

[kristinn]

Ford wasn’t included in the survey.

[9YearLurker]

Yeah, I caught that too late. Just putting him in with the Bushes, Clinton and Obama hardly seems like competition. But of course that’s because I know Reagan was the best of his century.

[GOPsterinMA]

"APPLAUSE"

[left that other site]

“second worst president by 37% of those surveyed, barely edging out George W. Bush who was named by 38%”

I find this very interesting.

Remember.
George W. Bush had the FULL WEIGHT of the Media, Academia, Hollywood, his own Party, The Entertainment Business, and the left working tirelessly to ridicule and discredit him.

The Lyin’ King had the exact same monolithic establishment pulling in his FAVOR.

And in the end, they are separated by only ONE POINT.

[US Navy Vet]

“Ronald Wilson Reagan” MM MM MM...

[kristinn]

The same polling company released a survey a few days before this one that showed forty-four percent would rather have George W. Bush back in office now rather than Obama.

[Jeff Head]

MY TRIBUTE TO RONALD REAGAN

People long for the clear vision, the positive attitude, the faith in God, the faith in America, the free market, and the conservative principles Reagan employed for 8 years that brought us out of the Carter malais and made eveyone proud to be American.

They want that again...and there is only one candidate on the radar screen that may give us a chance to regain it and turn around the Obama nightmare.

SARAH PALIN HONORING AMERICA AT A 911 MEMORIAL CEREMONY

THE MAN WHO DESPISES AMERICA

---

AWAKEN, O AMERICA, YOUR LIBERTY IS CALLING (Inspiring Video)

[Maelstorm]

Reagan is the one President in recent history that was not merely a political man. He was clearly a principled man who really had a sense of philosophy as far as government in relationship to the people. He unlike the recent crop of many Republicans and nearly all Democrats believed in the American people and the power of liberty and the individual. Instead of strategizing why doesn't the Republican party pick up the mantal of Reagan not just in name or with silly empty talk about "big tent" politics and just support the populist conservative principles that have made this country great. The problem with so many in the Republican leadership is that they don't believe in the principles of liberty and individual sovereignity that Reagan and our founders believed in. They are only slightly different in opinion than the Democrats on the current growth of what is a modern feudalism which is eroding the strength and integrity of the American people.

[chuck_the_tv_out]

“in the end, they are separated by only ONE POINT”

So the media is good for what - 15 points either way? So 0 should be 30 points below George now?

At least. Just imagine if the truth were told about 0. He couldn’t get elected garbage comptroller in Chicago.

[NVDave]

And Mr. Reagan was the last POTUS we elected who was not an Ivy League graduate.

Funny coincidence, that.

[US Navy Vet]

Anything that the “History” Channel has produced within thae last 5 or so year is full of PC SH*T!

[ReleaseTheHounds]

I hope you’re right... I agree with your optimism regarding Sarah — many of those same Reagan instincts, like-ability (sp?), common sense, and following the path of getting her message out at the grass roots.

[Windflier]

Ronald Wilson Reagan: the best there ever was... and unfortunately, I believe, the best there ever will be.

Never say never...

[BelegStrongbow]

That’s assuming it’s even true. Much of their stuff is now recylced from National Geographic and is utterly speculative when it isn’t downright loony (I’m thinking their bits on Nostradamus, for instance).

[chuck_the_tv_out]