President Obama is coming in at number one in a new poll, but this poll isn’t one he wants to win.
He has won the top pick for the “worst president since World War II†â€" also known as the worst president out of the last 12 â€" according to a poll American voters released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn.
President Obama comes in first place as the worst president of the last 12 in a new poll.
(Photo: Wikipedia)
President Obama came in first place with 33 percent, followed closely behind by George W. Bush with 28 percent. Third was Richard Nixon with 13 percent, who resigned in disgrace 40 years ago.
“Over the span of 69 years of American history and 12 presidencies, President Barack Obama finds himself with President George W. Bush at the bottom of the popularity barrel,†says Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll.
The top postwar presidents include Ronald Reagan (35 percent), Bill Clinton (18 percent), and John F. Kennedy (15 percent).
President Obama does have one unfair advantage, asking voters to rate the current president against his predecessors. Sitting presidents typically face daily criticism for challenges they are not supposedly “measuring up toâ€, and voter scan be harsh, even when a president’s ability to navigate a problem is limited. Typically, it has been shown that as soon as president leaves office, his favorability ratings get a boost.
And historians say, one should wait a few decades before ranking a president for the ages.
“Presidents often look different 20 or 30 years later, because when you wait that period of time you know what was important and what was not,†historian Michael Beschloss said in 2003, PBS notes.
In a face-off between Obama and second President Bush, the score was nearly even. Some 39 percent of voters said Obama has been a better president, while 40 percent say he has been worse.
Obama’s best issue, per those polled, is the environment. Fifty percent approve his handling of the environment, while 40 percent disapprove.
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