The Latest Presidential Rankings

Ever so often we see a ranking of US Presidents, usually the result of a poll of historians. These polls are always subjective: it is difficult to get an objective poll even when the poll takers try and get a balance of Republicans and Democrats, conservative and progrssive. Here is the latest one from a poll of 65 US historians. I do not know how "balanced" the list of voters is (or if it matters). Here before the article is my list the 10 best and 10 worst.

TEN BEST

1. George Washington
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt
4. Harry Truman
5. Dwight Eisenhower
6. Teddy Roosevelt
7. Woodrow Wilson
8. Andrew Jackson
9. John Adams
10.Thomas Jefferson

TEN WORST

1. Herbert Hoover
2. George W. Bush
3. Andrew Johnson
4. Millard Fillmore
5. Franklin Pierce
6. Calvin Coolidge
7. James Buchanan
8. John Tyler
9. Warren G. Harding
10.Richard Nixon


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WASHINGTON — Just days after the nation honored the 200th anniversary of his birth, 65 historians ranked Abraham Lincoln as the nation's best president.

Former President George W. Bush, who left office last month, was ranked 36th out of the 42 men who had been chief executive by the end of 2008, according to a survey conducted by the cable channel C-SPAN.

Bush scored lowest in international relations, where he was ranked 41st, and in economic management, where he was ranked 40th. His highest ranking, 24th, was in the category of pursuing equal justice for all. He was ranked 25th in crisis leadership and vision and agenda setting.

In contrast, Lincoln was ranked in the top three in each of the 10 categories evaluated by participants.

In C-SPAN's only other ranking of presidents, in 2000, former President Bill Clinton jumped six spots from No. 21 to 15. Other recent presidents moved positions as well: Ronald Reagan advanced from No. 11 to 10, George H.W. Bush rose from No. 20 to 18 and Jimmy Carter fell from No. 22 to 25.

This movement illustrates that presidential reputations are influenced by present-day concerns, said survey adviser and participant Edna Medford.

"Today's concerns shape our views of the past, be it in the area of foreign policy, managing the economy or human rights," Medford said in a statement.

After Lincoln, the academics rated George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman as the best leaders overall. The same five received top spots in the 2000 survey, although Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt swapped spots this year.

Rated worst overall were James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison and Warren G. Harding.

The survey was conducted in December and January. Participants ranked each president on a scale of one, "not effective" to 10, "very effective," on a list of 10 leadership qualities including relations with Congress, public persuasion and moral authority.