Fragile my ass, leaving out as it does pulling the country back from the brink of another Great Depression, kicking off the decline in unemployment, the longest bull market in U.S history and sending the SEALS to kill bin Laden.
A more objective view of matters.....and from more than just one historian.
Survey: Historians rank Obama 12th best president
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/all-ti...ngs-235149
By CRISTIANO LIMA
| 02/17/2017 03:26 PM EST
Historians have ranked Barack Obama the 12th best president of all time, the highest rated since President Ronald Reagan, in a new C-SPAN survey released Friday.
Less than a month after exiting the White House, Obama received high marks from presidential historians for his pursuit of "equal justice for all" and for his commanding "moral authority," ranking third and seventh among all former presidents in each respective category. The 44th president also cracked a top 10 ranking for his "economic management" and public persuasion.
The former president's tenure earned its lowest marks for the relationship between the presidency and Congress, with bitter partisanship often stagnating the effectiveness between the two and Obama seeing his Democratic majority slip in both the House of Representatives and the Senate during his eight years in office.
Historians, however, remained mixed on whether Obama's standing so soon after leaving office was higher or lower than expected.
"Although 12th is a respectable overall ranking, one would have thought that former President Obama’s favorable rating when he left office would have translated into a higher ranking in this presidential survey," said Edna Greene Medford, a Howard University professor and member of C-SPAN's historical advisory board.
Others, though, felt the former president's performance fresh out of office was remarkable.
"That Obama came in at number 12 his first time out is quite impressive," Douglas Brinkley, a Rice University professor and C-SPAN adviser, said in a press release.
The final verdict on Obama's legacy may still take time to truly assess, though, as historical views are admittedly likely to season as time passes.
"Of course, historians prefer to view the past from a distance, and only time will reveal his legacy," said Medford of Obama.
The survey, the third of its kind and first since 2009, when Obama succeeded President George W. Bush, also saw an uptick for the 43rd president.
"The survey is surprisingly good news for George W. Bush, who shot up a few notches," said Brinkley of Bush, who rose from the 36th spot to the 33rd. Bush, like Obama, earned his highest mark for his pursuit of equal justice, but came in at only 19th.
Bush's worst metrics were for international relations, with the drawn-out military conflict in the Middle East likely weighing him down.
Unchanged in the rankings were the top three standings, occupied by former Presidents Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, respectively.
"Once again the Big Three are Lincoln, Washington and FDR - as it should be," said Brinkley.
Former President Bill Clinton, meanwhile, slightly behind Obama at 15th, receiving extremely high marks for his handling of the economy, which ranked third all-time, but a lowly 39th ranking for his moral authority, with scandals plaguing the latter end of his presidency.
According to historian Richard Norton Smith, the gold standard for presidents remains those holding office between 1933 and 1969, with numerous snagging top scores.
"Five presidents from this era each rank in the top ten which tells you something about the criteria that historians tend to use," said Smith. "It reinforces Franklin Roosevelt's claim to be not only the first modern president but the man who, in reinventing the office, also established the criteria by which we judge our leaders."
Here are the full rankings:
1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
4. Teddy Roosevelt
5. Dwight Eisenhower
6. Harry Truman
7. Thomas Jefferson
8. John F. Kennedy
9. Ronald Reagan
10. Lyndon Johnson
11. Woodrow Wilson
12. Barack Obama
13. James Monroe
14. James Polk
15. Bill Clinton
16. William McKinley
17. James Madison
18. Andrew Jackson
19. John Adams
20. George H.W. Bush
21. John Q. Adams
22. Ulysses Grant
23. Grover Cleveland
24. William Taft
25. Gerald Ford
26. Jimmy Carter
27. Calvin Coolidge
28. Richard Nixon
29. James Garfield
30. Benjamin Harrison
31. Zachary Taylor
32. Rutherford Hayes
33. George W. Bush
34. Martin Van Buren
35. Chester Arthur
36. Herbert Hoover
37. Millard Fillmore
38. William Harrison
39. John Tyler
40. Warren Harding
41. Franklin Pierce
42. Andrew Johnson
43. James Buchanan
A more objective view of matters.....and from more than just one historian.
Survey: Historians rank Obama 12th best president
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/all-ti...ngs-235149
By CRISTIANO LIMA
| 02/17/2017 03:26 PM EST
Historians have ranked Barack Obama the 12th best president of all time, the highest rated since President Ronald Reagan, in a new C-SPAN survey released Friday.
Less than a month after exiting the White House, Obama received high marks from presidential historians for his pursuit of "equal justice for all" and for his commanding "moral authority," ranking third and seventh among all former presidents in each respective category. The 44th president also cracked a top 10 ranking for his "economic management" and public persuasion.
The former president's tenure earned its lowest marks for the relationship between the presidency and Congress, with bitter partisanship often stagnating the effectiveness between the two and Obama seeing his Democratic majority slip in both the House of Representatives and the Senate during his eight years in office.
Historians, however, remained mixed on whether Obama's standing so soon after leaving office was higher or lower than expected.
"Although 12th is a respectable overall ranking, one would have thought that former President Obama’s favorable rating when he left office would have translated into a higher ranking in this presidential survey," said Edna Greene Medford, a Howard University professor and member of C-SPAN's historical advisory board.
Others, though, felt the former president's performance fresh out of office was remarkable.
"That Obama came in at number 12 his first time out is quite impressive," Douglas Brinkley, a Rice University professor and C-SPAN adviser, said in a press release.
The final verdict on Obama's legacy may still take time to truly assess, though, as historical views are admittedly likely to season as time passes.
"Of course, historians prefer to view the past from a distance, and only time will reveal his legacy," said Medford of Obama.
The survey, the third of its kind and first since 2009, when Obama succeeded President George W. Bush, also saw an uptick for the 43rd president.
"The survey is surprisingly good news for George W. Bush, who shot up a few notches," said Brinkley of Bush, who rose from the 36th spot to the 33rd. Bush, like Obama, earned his highest mark for his pursuit of equal justice, but came in at only 19th.
Bush's worst metrics were for international relations, with the drawn-out military conflict in the Middle East likely weighing him down.
Unchanged in the rankings were the top three standings, occupied by former Presidents Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, respectively.
"Once again the Big Three are Lincoln, Washington and FDR - as it should be," said Brinkley.
Former President Bill Clinton, meanwhile, slightly behind Obama at 15th, receiving extremely high marks for his handling of the economy, which ranked third all-time, but a lowly 39th ranking for his moral authority, with scandals plaguing the latter end of his presidency.
According to historian Richard Norton Smith, the gold standard for presidents remains those holding office between 1933 and 1969, with numerous snagging top scores.
"Five presidents from this era each rank in the top ten which tells you something about the criteria that historians tend to use," said Smith. "It reinforces Franklin Roosevelt's claim to be not only the first modern president but the man who, in reinventing the office, also established the criteria by which we judge our leaders."
Here are the full rankings:
1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
4. Teddy Roosevelt
5. Dwight Eisenhower
6. Harry Truman
7. Thomas Jefferson
8. John F. Kennedy
9. Ronald Reagan
10. Lyndon Johnson
11. Woodrow Wilson
12. Barack Obama
13. James Monroe
14. James Polk
15. Bill Clinton
16. William McKinley
17. James Madison
18. Andrew Jackson
19. John Adams
20. George H.W. Bush
21. John Q. Adams
22. Ulysses Grant
23. Grover Cleveland
24. William Taft
25. Gerald Ford
26. Jimmy Carter
27. Calvin Coolidge
28. Richard Nixon
29. James Garfield
30. Benjamin Harrison
31. Zachary Taylor
32. Rutherford Hayes
33. George W. Bush
34. Martin Van Buren
35. Chester Arthur
36. Herbert Hoover
37. Millard Fillmore
38. William Harrison
39. John Tyler
40. Warren Harding
41. Franklin Pierce
42. Andrew Johnson
43. James Buchanan
