Clinton continues to drop in retrospective poll data. Only Nixon lower.

Clinton's Retrospective Job Approval at 51% Reagan, Carter, Ford and Kennedy are seen in more positive light now than while in office; Nixon's and Johnson's retrospective ratings are worse

PRINCETON, NJ -- John F. Kennedy continues to have the highest retrospective job-approval rating of any of the last eight presidents, followed by Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson have the lowest retrospective approval ratings. Bill Clinton -- measured for the first time since leaving office -- ranks only sixth. Clinton’s retrospective approval rating is slightly lower than his overall average while he was in office, and considerably lower than his average over his second term, between 1997 and 2001.

These ratings are based on a question that asks Americans to indicate whether -- in retrospect -- they approve or disapprove of the way a president handled his job while he was in office.

The spread in these ratings is quite wide, as can be seen. More than eight out of 10 Americans say they approve of the way John F. Kennedy handled the presidency, while at the other end of the spectrum, only about a third say they approve of how the office was handled by Richard Nixon.

We can classify the last eight presidents into categories based on how the public sees them now:

Number One: JFK;
Highly Regarded: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush
Above Average: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter;
Average: Bill Clinton, Lyndon Johnson;
Below Average: Richard Nixon

Five of the last eight presidents now have more positive approval ratings than they did while in office.

The biggest increase occurs with Ronald Reagan, who was in office between 1981 and 1989. Reagan’s average job-approval rating while in office -- 53% -- was only mid-range. (Reagan averaged 50% in his first term and 55% in his second term.) Now, looking back, a resounding 73% of Americans say they approve of how he handled his job while president -- a 20 percentage-point jump.

Two other presidents who did not do particularly well in terms of approval ratings while in office have seen a significant rise in their ratings over time. Jimmy Carter averaged only 45% while in office, but looking back, 60% of Americans now say they approve of how he handled his job. Similarly, Gerald Ford averaged only 47% during his brief tenure in office, between August 1974 and January 1977, but he now gets a 60% retrospective approval rating.

John Kennedy represents a slightly different situation. Kennedy already had the highest average job-approval rating of any president Gallup has measured (going back to Franklin D. Roosevelt), at 70%. But the passage of time has been even more kind to Kennedy, and in retrospect, an extraordinary 83% of Americans say they approve of how he handled his 1,000 days in office, between January 1961 and November 1963.

Bush the elder’s average while in office is the second highest of any of these last eight presidents -- 61% -- despite the fact that his ratings were on a downslide in his last year and he lost his bid for re-election to Bill Clinton in 1992. Now, in retrospect, Bush gets a 69% approval rating.

The biggest downturns in public opinion have occurred in the retrospective job-approval ratings for Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. Both men did well in their first terms in office -- Johnson getting an extraordinary 74% average from the time when he took office following JFK’s assassination in November 1963 to his inauguration for a second term in January 1965. Nixon averaged 56% in his first term and was overwhelmingly re-elected in 1972 over Democratic candidate George McGovern.

But both men saw their approval ratings plummet. Johnson fell victim to national discontent over his Vietnam policies, and by the time he left office in January 1969, his overall average across all of his time in office had fallen to just 55%. (Johnson averaged only 42% for his last year in office.) It is apparent that this more negative side of his presidency is what is remembered now; Johnson gets only a 39% retrospective approval rating, a drop of 16 percentage points from his term average, and about the same as he received in his last year.

Richard Nixon’s ratings fell to only a 34% average in the year and a half of his second term, before he resigned in August 1974 because of the escalating Watergate scandal. His overall rating for his entire term in office was only 49%. Despite Nixon’s efforts to restore his reputation in the years between 1969 and his death in 1994, only 34% of Americans now, in retrospect, say they approve of how he handled his job, while 54% say they disapprove. (This 34% is, however, higher than the extremely low 25% average Nixon received in his last eight months in office in 1974.)

This brings us to Bill Clinton. Clinton averaged a 55% job-approval rating over his eight years in office between January 1993 and January 2001. Although it would be easy to assume that Clinton’s ratings were worst in his last years in office -- as he became embroiled in the Monica Lewinsky scandal and became only the second president in U.S. history to be impeached by the House of Representatives -- the reverse is true. His second-term job-approval average was actually quite a bit higher than that of his first term. He averaged only 50% in his first term -- beset in large part by the woes of the economy. Bolstered by a robust economy in his second term, Clinton averaged 61% from 1997-2001. Clinton’s overall average of 55% is slightly above the averages of Presidents Reagan, Carter, Ford, and Nixon, and is tied with Johnson’s.

There is a great deal of interest in how history is going to view Bill Clinton. Will he be judged more on the years of prosperity and relative international peace that occurred during his term, or will his personal failings, the impeachment and other scandals dominate his legacy? Our first indication from the public does little to suggest that Clinton’s image has become more positive in the 14 months since he left office. Just 51% of Americans now say they approve of the job Clinton did while in office, and a substantial 47% say they disapprove (the second-highest disapproval rating, behind only Nixon’s). This marks a drop from the higher ratings he was receiving as he left office, and a slight drop even from his overall two-term average.

Who remembers Clinton most fondly? The divisions in this retrospective approval are very similar to those found while he was in office. Democrats and nonwhites are his strongest supporters, as are younger Americans. The groups least likely to say they approve are -- not surprisingly -- Republicans, those living in the Midwest, older Americans and whites.

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,009 adults, 18 years and older, conducted March 18-20, 2002. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

QUESTIONS:
From what you have heard, read, or remember about some of our past presidents, please tell me if you approve or disapprove of the way each of the following handled their job as president. (SEE RESPONSE BELOW)

My husband who is not religious and hasn't been in a church in maybe 40 years thinks Clinton is the Devil. He doesn't even believe in the devil, but he still swears Clinton personifies everything he ever thought and read about the devil.

It's strange so many just have "that feeling." Like your husband, those who aren't even religious, but have a sence of right and wrong, or conscience.
There's such an evil air surrounding this man and his wife. It's like Stan is protecting them for the bigger job he has planned. Who else in the world could get away with such evil, immorality, and deciet without repercussions? Some are actually worshiping him as a savior of the world.
"Even the elite would be decieved, if it were possible."

Funny you should say that. My on-the-brink of retirement parents, who aren't particularily religious (lapsed Catholics pretty much describes the whole family) say nearly the same thing. They're both convinced he did a Faustian deal, and just like Faust, it turned to ashes in his mouth.

I usually don't get involved in political conversations with my spouce, because we usually end up disagreeing with each other on something. The issue is better left alone. The other day, while watching Sunday news programs, he brought up Clintons name. All he said was "the more I hear, the more I'm beginning to thing Clinton is the real anti-Christ."

Tell your spouse that if Clinton were a "real man" he'd have done what real men do:
o Answer the call to arms when your country needs you
o Put family considerations before (intern) aquaintances
o Never lie to people who put their trust in you (nation)
o Never require others to risk/give their lives for what you would never do (Somalia)

His second-term job-approval average was actually quite a bit higher than that of his first term. He averaged only 50% in his first term -- beset in large part by the woes of the economy.

Hey, wait! I thought Clinton oversaw the "greatest economy in over 100 years."

I believe, over time, history will be much kinder to Nixon; as, already, some historians are coming around to the fact that RMN would rank extremely high if not for Watergate.

And what's so ironic is that Watergate was nothing compared to what we've had to go though during the clintoon years. Astonishing when you think of all the damage that was done to the country by billy and his minions. Watergate, if people were really honest about it in the media, would be seen for what it was. Just a blip on the screen.

But no, the media loves to hate RMN and they love to love billyjeff.

but he still swears Clinton personifies everything he ever thought and read about the devil...

They're both convinced he did a Faustian deal, and just like Faust, it turned to ashes in his mouth.

That's exactly what it looks like, doesn't it? A Faustian deal. And chillary did the same thing. They both sold their souls many years ago, and kept their pact with the devil. Only chillary has yet to see it turn to ashes in her mouth, but one day, it will.

Lyndon kills an imbecile who brought us closer to the ultimate nightmare than any other mortal in the history of the world. By martyring him, he turns JFK into a teenage idol. Johnson gets away with it and destroys the US through the Great Society. FDR, LBJ, and WJC are the three worst Presidents in American history and were all un-American. These polls provide a glimpse into the fact base of the average American and secondarily into his ability to think rationally. Is this still a free country governed by rational people?

Freep this Poll

Above Average: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter;

I figure Jerry gets it on the strength of holding the country together post-Watergate; and Carter because of Camp David accords. They both, at least, have some sort of legacy while Beelzebubba's "leg-assy" is just that: "leg" with a little "assy" on the side!

Nope, I'm afraid that Nixon will always be haunted by two things:
1) Watergate. People just weren't used to massive, executive branch scandels like they are now...
2) His taped conversations in general. Especially the new stuff that's come out lately, that makes him look like a total maniac. All someone will have to do is drag that out whenever people start to think kindly of the guy.
Although, there is that old Vulcan proverb "Only Nixon can go to China."

Johnson tapes are out (C-span) too; and some of Nixon's profanity seems tame by comparison. LBJ was one crude old redneck, if you ever care to listen; real pool hall men's language. Nixon, when Watergate first occurs, comes across as genuinely perplexed about the break-in, then, probably, protective..."What in the hell were they thinking?" he asks H.R. Halderman in one taped segment...of course, his reaction is never going to be considered by liberals--they always point to the fact: "...it wasn't the deed, it was the coverup!"

hi meandog
you were back in my old neighborhood
yes I lived on lower east side 25 years before movin' to Tucson AZ
(I am native New Yorker)
I had priceless experience living on lower east side, cause I met people from every walk in life
but I find the peace and beauty of nature more real :)
I am happy on the lovely Sonoran Desert
I haven't returned to NYC since I moved to Tucson
NYC is great city for walkin' around
I bet you had a wonderful time
Love, Palo

I am one who changed her perspective on Nixon
I appreciate his outstanding accomplishments in foreign policy
Ehrlichmann said in tv rcently that Nixon was losing it, he had to be removed from Office
I see Nixon as a man who made mistakes, learned from them
exited with grace
I esteem him highly
clinton was ruthless gangster, and if we had not gotten George W in
we would have had criminal take-over of our government
he was most dangerous thing to ever happen to our country
Love, Palo

Johnson tapes are out (C-span) too; and some of Nixon's profanity seems tame by comparison. LBJ was one crude old redneck, if you ever care to listen; real pool hall men's language.

Not surprised in the slightest. Moral of the story: Don't tape record yourself in the Oval Office. Or at least be VERY sneaky about it.

of course, his reaction is never going to be considered by liberals--they always point to the fact: "...it wasn't the deed, it was the coverup!"

I wince to say this, but they actually have a point. It really is the coverup that matters. If we're going to hold any leaders accountable, Democrat or Republican, we have to use the same measure. Although I will grant that not commiting the dead, but trying to cover it up isn't nearly as ethically reprehensible as actually comitting the deed AND trying to cover it up.

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