PPP: presidential popularity poll
excerpt publicpolicypolling.com
As part of our national poll last weekend, we decided to do a special Presidents' Day poll and ask voters how they feel about each of the 43 presidents we've had, including the current one. (Yes, Obama is the 44th, but remember: Grover Cleveland was both the 22nd and 24th.)
What we found is that America's first president is still its most popular. 89% of voters see George Washington favorably, and only 3% unfavorably, followed in the top ten by Abraham Lincoln (85-7), Thomas Jefferson (74-6), Teddy Roosevelt (66-9), John Adams (55-9), Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower (each 62-11), John F. Kennedy (70-21), John Quincy Adams (52-7), and Franklin D. Roosevelt (62-22). Of other recent presidents, Ronald Reagan is 14th most popular (62-30), Gerald Ford 16th (49-28), Bill Clinton 17th (54-38), George H.W. Bush 19th (51-42), and Jimmy Carter tied for 29th (44-44).
The least popular by far is Richard Nixon (27-59), followed by ten others in negative territory: Lyndon B. Johnson (34-42), Warren Harding (12-19), Millard Fillmore (7-12), Herbert Hoover (25-29), Calvin Coolidge (18-22), Barack Obama (46-49), Chester Arthur (10-13), Martin Van Buren (13-15), James Buchanan (11-13), and George W. Bush (45-46).