(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More than two-thirds of adults in the United States believe Franklin D. Roosevelt was a superb head of state, according to a poll by Zogby International. 69 per cent of respondents rate Roosevelt as a great president.

John F. Kennedy is next on the list with 67 per cent, followed by Ronald Reagan with 62 per cent. Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon did not reach the 20 per cent mark on the survey.

Roosevelt—who governed from 1933 to 1945—steered the country during the Great Depression, creating the New Deal policy, which allowed the federal government to intervene in economic matters. Kennedy—who served from 1961 to 1963—launched a series of successful economic programs, and supported the cause of equal rights for all Americans. Both presidents died while in office.

Reagan—a Republican who governed from 1981 to 1989—had been an actor prior to his victory in the 1966 California gubernatorial election. During his two terms in office, Reagan endeavoured to reduce government spending and to lower taxes during a time of high unemployment and inflation in the U.S. While credited for launching several anti-drug campaigns, the president was also criticized for failing to acknowledge the HIV-AIDS epidemic.

In September 2007, Illinois senator Barack Obama—who is seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination—discussed Roosevelt’s legacy, saying, "It is faith in the American ideal that carries us through, as well as the belief that was voiced by Franklin Roosevelt all those years ago this week: ‘Failure is not an American habit; and in the strength of great hope we must all shoulder our common load.’ That is the strength and the hope we seek both today—and in all the days and months to come."

Polling Data

How would you rate these presidents? ("Great" listed)

Source: Zogby International
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,026 likely American voters, conducted on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23, 2008. Margin of error is 3.2 per cent.

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