Far and away, Abraham Lincoln is ranked by Americans as the nation’s greatest president, according to a poll conducted by Harris Interactive and released this week, just ahead of Presidents Day. What’s surprising is that President George W. Bush, whose approval rating has plunged to just 30 percent, also sneaks into the top ten list.
- Abraham Lincoln
- Ronald Reagan
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- John F. Kennedy
- George Washington
- Bill Clinton
- Thomas Jefferson
- Harry Truman
- Theodore Roosevelt
- George W. Bush
The point being, of course, is that a lot of people (an awful lot) can only name two or three recent presidents, so they tend to show up on these lists.
A recent ranking by “scholars” has the top ten:
- Washington
- Lincoln
- FDR
- Jefferson
- TR
- Jackson
- Truman
- Reagan
- Eisenhower
- Polk
The inclusion of Reagan on the “scholars” list is disturbing.
While he was certainly good at reading what his speechwriters gave him – and Carter was at the other end of the bell curve, perhaps one of the worst public speakers in recent memory – Reagan was a terrible president, although not quite as bad as the “all hat, no cowboy” we have at present.
Oh, I concur with Richard. Reagan on the top ten?!?!? Good grief.