Americans Rank Lincoln As Top President

[Showtime]

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/americans-rank-lincoln-as-top-president/20080216154509990001

AOL
Posted: 2008-02-17 09:56:44
Filed Under: Nation News (http://news.aol.com/nation)

(Feb. 17) - 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.

The Harris poll points out that recent presidents tend to be listed more often as both the best and the worst. In a separate poll asking Americans to name the worst commander-in-chief since World War II, Bush won in a landslide, netting 34 percent of the vote.

The online survey posed this question to 2,302 adults in the U.S.: Which one of the following presidents do you think was the best overall president in our history?

The list of options people could choose from included all presidents since Franklin Roosevelt, along with some of the more famous from earlier in American history – George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge.

Scores were tallied by adding the percentage of those who answered “best” and “second best” for each president. Among modern leaders, Ronald Reagan ranked highest, but even his cache could not compete with the mighty Abe Lincoln, who was named the top president by 20 percent of those surveyed.

The man who saw the nation through the Civil War is still driving headlines too. In the last year, rare and historic photographs have emerged of Lincoln’s inauguration and his famous Gettysburg Address. A study also revealed why his face is so unique

[Morg]

except for C lee no one lived in that time so how can they know he's the best one? ;)

[Matt]

People vote for whoever is fresh in their minds or whoever is the most recognizable name, which is why Reagan won that Time Warner poll that was taken right after his death.

Franklin Roosevelt was probably the best president in history, but his name will never be as recognizable as Washington or Lincoln so he will never be as highly ranked. Reagan will drop probably to 11 or 12 after a decade or so.

[Venom'sDad]

Washington, as this nation's 1st President, help lay the Foundation of this Nation.

Lincoln successfully saved the Foundation of this Nation.

Reagan remarkably redefined the Foundation of this Nation.

I think that's why they are graciously remembered.

[rdh007]

Franklin Roosevelt was probably the best president in history, but his name will never be as recognizable as Washington or Lincoln so he will never be as highly ranked. Reagan will drop probably to 11 or 12 after a decade or so.

FDR FTW!!!

[Matt]

Washington, as this nation's 1st President, help lay the Foundation of this Nation.

Lincoln successfully saved the Foundation of this Nation.

Reagan remarkably redefined the Foundation of this Nation.

I think that's why they are graciously remembered.

Reagan will not be looked upon as kindly in 10 or 20 years. Once the Cold Warrior generation dies out and history begins to reflect the fact that the Soviet Union would've fell regardless of if it were Reagan or Mondale due to its own economic policies, factored in with the longterm effects of Reagan-omics becoming more apparent...he will be remembered between 12 and 15.

[rdh007]

When I was 18 (in 1992), I believed in the Reagan myth. Then I grew up.

[StorminNorman]

People vote for whoever is fresh in their minds or whoever is the most recognizable name, which is why Reagan won that Time Warner poll that was taken right after his death.

Franklin Roosevelt was probably the best president in history, but his name will never be as recognizable as Washington or Lincoln so he will never be as highly ranked. Reagan will drop probably to 11 or 12 after a decade or so.

I think Franklin Roosevelt is one of the most overrated Presidents in history - and he IS almost as recognizable as Washington or Lincoln.

Truman deserves far more praise than he gets. As does Teddy.

[SuBe]

I think Franklin Roosevelt is one of the most overrated Presidents in history - and he IS almost as recognizable as Washington or Lincoln.

Truman deserves far more praise than he gets. As does Teddy.
Agreed.

The New Deal actually hurt this Nation more than anything Reagen ever did. Nothing like relying on the government.

[Showtime]

except for C lee no one lived in that time so how can they know he's the best one? ;)

Heh Heh. ZING.

I think William Henry Harrison is underated.

http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=91913&rendTypeId=4

[Venom'sDad]

Reagan will not be looked upon as kindly in 10 or 20 years. Once the Cold Warrior generation dies out and history begins to reflect the fact that the Soviet Union would've fell regardless of if it were Reagan or Mondale due to its own economic policies, factored in with the longterm effects of Reagan-omics becoming more apparent...he will be remembered between 12 and 15.

LOL Matt, you state that as if it's fact; it's just your opinion. You have made your feelings well known about Reagan, so I think there's some bias there.

The fact of the matter is, no one can say with certainty, how a future civilization would view a former President. Your statement is very suggested.






BTW... President Filmore, "Soap on a Rope" :D

[The Senator]

LOL Matt, you state that as if it's fact; it's just your opinion. You have made your feelings well known about Reagan, so I think there's some bias there.

Allan Lichtman, a Presidential scholar at my university, agrees with Matt's sentiments.

[The Senator]

James K. Polk deserves more recognition than he gets, but it looks like this poll completely ignored him.

[Malice]

Heh Heh. ZING.

I think William Henry Harrison is underated.

http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=91913&rendTypeId=4

yeah, he died 30 days in office, getting pneumonia at his inauguration.
That is sad...

[StorminNorman]

yeah, he died 30 days in office, getting pneumonia at his inauguration.
That is sad...

He was giving a long winded speech, in the rain, when most of the people had already left :(

[batnkevlar]

Taft got stuck in a bathtub... he was like the Cartman of presidents...

[danielisthor]

The problem with Lincoln is that for all the good he did in keeping the nation together all the evil that he did to do it is overlooked. He gets credit for freeing the slaves, but nobody mentions that he only did it to keep England from helping the South. IMO, Lincoln is just as bad a President as the incompetent idiot in the House today.

[The Chairman]

Count me in on the FDR bandwagon.

[redfirebird2008]

Franklin Roosevelt was probably the best president in history, but his name will never be as recognizable as Washington or Lincoln so he will never be as highly ranked. Reagan will drop probably to 11 or 12 after a decade or so.

Yep, I agree FDR is probably the best. FDR, Washington, and Lincoln were probably the 3 greatest by far. Washington set the precedent for only having 2 terms and of course was a great leader in helping us become a nation to begin with before he was ever President, and of course Lincoln was the President when America was at its ugliest and most divided. FDR fought off the Great Depression and fought back in WWII.

[kytrigger]

I honestly think that Nixon gets a bad rap too. IMO he was one of, if not the bst President when it came to foriegn affairs. Of course his abilities get slammed into the ground by Watergate. Without that, I wonder how he would be rated.

[The Dude]

Heh Heh. ZING.

I think William Henry Harrison is underated.

http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=91913&rendTypeId=4

Well he did maintain the status quo through his entire tenure of office

[The Chairman]

I honestly think that Nixon gets a bad rap too. IMO he was one of, if not the bst President when it came to foriegn affairs. Of course his abilities get slammed into the ground by Watergate. Without that, I wonder how he would be rated.

Nixon was fantastic outside of Watergate.

[CorpusBlack]

FDR and Lincoln fall to the might of pre-Watergate Nixon.

[rdh007]

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee144/rdh007/lex-luthor-wrong1.jpg

[CorpusBlack]

Nope.

[CorpusBlack]

Taft got stuck in a bathtub... he was like the Cartman of presidents...

:lmao:

[Matt]

LOL Matt, you state that as if it's fact; it's just your opinion. You have made your feelings well known about Reagan, so I think there's some bias there.

The fact of the matter is, no one can say with certainty, how a future civilization would view a former President. Your statement is very suggested.






BTW... President Filmore, "Soap on a Rope" :D

This coming from the guy who tells people that only he knows what their REAL opinion is.

[Matt Murdock]

Abraham Lincoln was, no doubt, an excellent leader. Throughout the course of U.S. History, in the Pre-Lincoln era, the nation had consistently been referred to in the plural. "The United States are..." After the Civil War, however, and Lincoln's unwaivering leadership, the nation was actually referred to in the singular, both literally and figuratively uniting the nation. Pretty interesting stuff. :up:

[The Senator]

As amazing as Lincoln was, Truman was amazing beyond what amazing could ever be.

[UltimateJustin]

As amazing as Lincoln was, Truman was amazing beyond what amazing could ever be.
Thats d-riding. Anyway, Truman doesn't get my vote because he signed a sinister document claiming the goal of communists was world domination and stepping up much harsh drama about them.

I'm going to go with Carter because he was the first prez to deal with the GLBT community and vetoed a bill in congress that would ban them from teaching in public schools, if you can believe in this day and age that such a bill would have ever existed in this "country" let alone come from a place as progressive as Cali Cal. :bh:

I'm not gay or anything, gross, but theres no denying that denying people rights is not what this country is all about!!!!

[Matt]

Just because Carter dealt with it doesn't make him the best president. In fact, he was historically one of the worst. Now if we are talking about post-presidencies, Carter is easily one of, if not THE best.

[The Senator]

Thats d-riding. Anyway, Truman doesn't get my vote because he signed a sinister document claiming the goal of communists was world domination and stepping up much harsh drama about them.

I'm going to go with Carter because he was the first prez to deal with the GLBT community and vetoed a bill in congress that would ban them from teaching in public schools, if you can believe in this day and age that such a bill would have ever existed in this "country" let alone come from a place as progressive as Cali Cal. :bh:

I'm not gay or anything, gross, but theres no denying that denying people rights is not what this country is all about!!!!

I'm gay, and I refuse to rank Carter above 35 on my list because he was a wuss who wanted nothing to do with Congress, he had no idea how to fix the Iranian Hostage situation, he helped torpedo our economy into one of its worse recessions, and worst of all-- like a certain candidate who is currently running for President-- he offered false hope to an entire generation of Americans who had been tired of the corruption and countless scandals which had plagued the American presidency since LBJ's second term. He was a flimsy, stupid outsider who proved that empty ideology can't fix anything if you're not willing to work with the system.

He gets props for the gay bill and the Camp David peace accords, as well as my unlimited praise for his post-presidency... but his presidency stunk worse than a cow farm in West Virginia.

[UltimateJustin]

Just because Carter dealt with it doesn't make him the best president. In fact, he was historically one of the worst. Now if we are talking about post-presidencies, Carter is easily one of, if not THE best.
HMMM.. then I change it to Lyndon B. Johnson cause he was raw.

[Malice]

Man its funny to vote on presidents on what they have done....
Hindsight is 20/20

Its funny, 30 years ago, they didnt think Eisenhower was such a good president, he is slowing climbing the ranks since then....

[Malice]

Nixon, was a pretty good President in most aspects.
He was a victim of his own personality.

He got paranoid and bamn...we know the rest. He is forever marred by those events. Pretty sad...

From what I have read, he probably cursed more then any other president in history up to that point...by far...he had a mouth on him.

[Genesis 1.0]

I agree with Lincoln topping the list, but Nixon, Reagan, and Truman are all also quite worthy.

Malice, we all know that hindsight equals vindication for many presidencies and you're seeing that in this Poll.