Most Popular Pol Poll

A new Gallup poll ranks the popularity of American presidents, and taking the number one spot with an 85% approval rating is that “liberal” the conservatives love-to-hate, John F. Kennedy. The lore of Camelot “has legs” as they say, even to today’s generation. In close proximity with a 74% approval number, is that darling of the Right, Ronald Reagan. In the “Place” position, Bill Clinton has nudged out Jimmy Carter from last year. Carter still makes the top 10 with a sixth place showing.

Blog favorite George W. Bush finishes with a respectable 47% approval rating – about 13 points above his approval rating upon leaving office. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder. Last and definitely least, is that trickster from Yorba Linda, California, Richard Nixon who has brought up the rear for the past twenty years.

According to poll data, “Reagan, Ford, Carter, [George W. Bush], and George H.W. Bush have all earned higher retrospective job approval ratings than the ratings they earned at the end of their presidencies. Lyndon Johnson, Nixon, and Clinton’s ratings have remained about the same as they were at the end of their respective terms.”

Source: CNN

–Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger