Survey Ranks Obama 15th Best President, Bush Among Worst

Source: US News & World ReportPresident Obama ranks 15th out of 44 in a poll of the best and worst presidents while former President George W. Bush earns a place in the bottom five, according to the Siena College Research Institute's recent survey of 238 presidential scholars released Thursday. Obama secured a top ten place in two skill set categories, communication ability (7th) and ability to compromise (10th), and in two personality trait categories, imagination (6th) and intelligence (8th). Background, described as family, education, and experience, proved his lowest score at 32nd.This is the 5th time the institute has conducted the survey of U.S. presidents, which is done a year after a new president takes office. The inaugural survey in 1982 ranked then-President Ronald Reagan at 16th. "Obviously, there's not great validity to it since they've only been in office for one year," says the survey's co-director and statistician Douglas Lonnstrom. "But it's a benchmark for us to see how they move." Bush made the top twenty in only two categories, luck (18th) and willingness to take risks (19th), and he sits in the bottom five in 12 of the 20 categories, notably 42nd in intelligence, foreign policy accomplishments, and communication ability. Lonnstrom points out the unpopular former president has time on his side, explaining it takes four or five decades to know a president's true worth. "Right now there's a lot of emotion about Bush," he says. "Time passes and people become more objective, and so we'll see."Read more:

Survey: Obama Ranked 15th Best President, Bush 39th

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HUFFPOST SUPER USEMegWe 1 hour ago (8:15 PM)

I have a good friend who is a tough old broad, very smart blue collar, who used to drive truck, and her husband and three sons are also currently truck drivers. All four of these guys are on the road all this weekend, which I understand is unheard of over the 4th of July. They are busier than h e l l , with some companies paying premium rates to have their goods moved. This has been going on for several weeks now. She is convinced that the economy is a lot better than the statistics show, and that corporate America is doing a number on the President. I believe her. They are pulling out all of the stops with their mouthpieces in the Republican party and MSM. I don't usually give a second though to so-called "conspiracy theories," but people, we have a huge fight on our hands. Stay safe Mr. President!