(07/05/10) -

Americans Select Reagan and Clinton as Best Recent Presidents

Half of Republicans think Barack Obama has been the worst head of state since 1969, while majority of Democrats pick George W. Bush.

Half of Republicans think Barack Obama has been the worst head of state since 1969, while majority of Democrats pick George W. Bush.

Americans have two favorite politicians when they assess the country’s presidents since 1969, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,004 American adults, 32 per cent of respondents think Ronald Reagan has been the best president of the past four decades, while 30 per cent select Bill Clinton.

Barack Obama is a distant third at seven per cent, followed by Jimmy Carter (5%), George W. Bush (3%), Gerald Ford (2%), George H. W. Bush (2%) and Richard Nixon (2%).

Reagan is ahead in the Midwest (34%) and the South (37%), while Clinton gets high marks in the West (35%). In the Northeast, the two presidents are virtually tied (30% for Clinton; 29% for Reagan).

Half of Democrats (52%) think Clinton has been the best recent president, while three-in-five Republicans (63%) feel the same way about Reagan. Among Independents, Reagan has a 12-point lead over Clinton (37% to 25%).

When asked who the worst recent president has been, one third of respondents (33%) select George W. Bush, while 23 per cent pick Obama. George W. Bush is next on the list with nine per cent, followed by Nixon and Clinton (both with seven per cent).

The animosity towards the last two presidents is defined by party lines. Half of Republicans (50%) think Obama has been the worst recent president, while 55 per cent of Democrats select George W. Bush. More Independents (35%) select Bush on this category than Obama (24%).

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Public Affairs
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

From June 17 to June 18, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,004 American adults who are Springboard America panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of the United States.