POL 313

 

The Presidency

 

 

C-SPAN Presidential Greatness Survey of Experts and the Public

(Criteria listed below)

President Rank by Experts Rank by Public Difference in Rank
Washington 3 2 1
J. Adams 16 14 2
Jefferson 7 5 2
Madison 18 10 8
Monroe 14 9 5
J. Q. Adams 19 15 4
Jackson 13 14 -1
Van Buren 30 30 0
W. Harrison 37 35 2
Tyler 36 32 4
Polk 12 17 -5
Taylor 28 25 3
Fillmore 35 37 -2
Pierce 39 39 0
Buchanan 41 41 0
Lincoln 1 1 0
A. Johnson 40 38 2
Grant 33 29 4
Hayes 26 26 0
Garfield 29 27 2
Arthur 36 66 6
Cleveland 17 21 -4
B. Harrison 31 31 0
McKinley 15 18 -3
T. Roosevelt 4 3 1
Taft 24 24 0
Wilson 6 13 -7
Harding 38 40 -2
Coolidge 27 22 5
Hoover 34 33 1
F. Roosevelt 2 4 -2
Truman 5 7 -2
Eisenhower 9 8 1
Kennedy 8 12 -4
L. Johnson 10 19 -9
Nixon 25 20 5
Ford 23 23 0
Carter 22 27 -5
Reagan 11 6 5
G. H. W. Bush 20 16 4
Clinton 21 36 -15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The C-Span surveys ask about 10 presidential attributes:

Public Persuasion,  Relations with Congress,  International Relations, 

Economic Management,  Administrative Skills,  Moral Authority,  Crisis Leadership, 

Vision and Agenda Setting,  Performance Within the Context of the Times,  Pursued Equal Justice for All