In New Survey, Political Science Scholars Put Biden Ahead of Reagan, Bush in Pantheon of ‘Greatest’ American Presidents

A new survey of American political scientists ranking the “greatest” presidents in American history puts President Obama among the top ten commanders in chief of all time, above Presidents Johnson and Kennedy, and the man who currently holds the title at number 14, higher than both Presidents Reagan and George H. W. Bush.The annual list is compiled by a professor at the University of Houston, Brandon Rottinghaus, and a professor at Coastal Carolina University, Justin Vaughn, who surveyed some 154 current and recent members of the Presidents & Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.It should come as little surprise that the academics surveyed put President Trump dead last on the list, behind even President Harrison, whose term lasted a mere 30 days, and President Hoover, whose protectionist policies exacerbated the Great Depression. Mr. Trump was also labeled the “most polarizing” president in American history.President Biden’s surprisingly strong showing comes despite the current president’s 57 percent national disapproval rating among voters. He appears higher on the list than Reagan (number 16), who enjoyed a greater public approval at this point in his first term. Reagan’s ranking has slid down several spots in recent years, suggesting a growing distaste for the president from whom Mr. Trump swiped the slogan, “Let’s make America great again.”Which president is “great” enough to join Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt at Mount Rushmore? Scholars overwhelmingly say President Franklin Delano Roosevelt should be carved into the stone in South Dakota. In second place for Mt. Rushmore is Mr. Obama, whose average “greatness” rating has risen 20 percent over the last decade of reporting. To showcase the partisan divide among respondents, Republicans see Washington as the most great president, whereas Democrats give Lincoln the no. 1 ranking. Yet both parties characterize Washington as “clearly the least polarizing president,” the survey says.That’s far cry from the recent presidents, Mr. Trump and Mr. Obama, who are deemed “most polarizing” in “the current polarized political climate.”

In New Survey, Political Science Scholars Put Biden Ahead of Reagan, Bush in Pantheon of ‘Greatest’ American Presidents

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