If you twisted my arm (probably not very hard), I'd probably name Dubya as that individual deserving that title — but I wouldn't give more than even money that historians a century or two from now will agree.
Reshared post from +Jeremy Nixon
There’s a new Quinnipiac poll out saying a plurality of voters think Barack Obama is the worst president since World War II.
OMG everybody freak out! It’s confirmed! He’s terrible!
Or, you know, not. What good is a poll like this? Gee, I wonder why most people chose either Barack Obama or George W. Bush. I wonder why Democrats and Republicans each chose the guy from the other party. Why do you suppose, when the question was asked during the Bush years, Bill Clinton was a popular choice for “worst”, but now only 3% say so?
Do we really think the poll respondents, familiar with the records of all twelve post-war presidents, carefully weighed the historical factors and made a reasoned choice?
Look at my name: I share a surname with one of those presidents. Years ago, upon hearing my name, the usual reaction was “hey, any relation?” Now, people younger than about 50 ask me how to spell it, and if I tell them “like the president”, they look at me as though I’ve grown a second head. I try to clarify, but they have no earthly idea who I’m talking about.
These are the people you’re asking who was the worst post-war president. At a bare minimum, answers should only be counted from people who can name all of the post-war presidents.
This is a poll designed for viral headlines. It has no real value.
LOL….yes, so since the poll names Obama as "the worst president ever", the populace must be morons.
Now, had the result been Bush this would have been the most important poll since WWII.
Going off of the OPs original text, btw, not yours Dave.
Even the 50 year rule may not apply, because our perceptions of ex-Presidents continue to change as the years roll by.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States#Scholar_survey_results contains a colored comparison of the relative rankings of various polls from 1948 to 2011. Admittedly some of these polls may be affected by the bias of the people being polled, but some things stand out:
Andrew Jackson was a top 7 president in some of the initial polls, but has fallen a bit out of favor as the years have passed by. (As a fan of a certain football team from the Washington DC area, I can guess why.)
Perception of Martin Van Buren has decreased over time. Rated as high as number 15 in Schlesinger's 1948 poll, his rankings within the past ten years have been in the 23-40 range (with 40 an obvious outlier).
And you always have blips somewhere. Ulysses Grant is usually considered a below-average President, but the 2008 poll (the same one that ranked Van Buren as number 40) rated Grant at 18.
George W was named worst president last time. Obama was named worst president this time because a large majority of Republicans hate him the most while Democrats hated a bunch of presidents equally. Same goes with how Reagan was voted best president. Republicans loved Reagan while Democrats couldn't pick between JFK, Clinton, and Obama.
+Melissa Walsh, if you haven't already seen it, you'll want to read through +Jeremy Nixon's original post on the topic. While some of the comments are partisan one way or the other, other's (including Dave's) are on target. (I almost said "right on target," but that's me.)
+Mark Means Thanks for the caveat. The OP's position, though, is pretty similar to mine — the populace is morons (well, not how I'd phrase it) whenever this question gets asked.
We haven't been having very good luck with presidents. They just keep getting worse. Each one is the worst ever. Pretty soon we'll be electing a used car salesman!
Don't agree. I believe Harding is worse than any of his successors.
What about Harrison? The guy did nothing during his entire term! _Nothing!_
I assume you're speaking about Bill rather than Ben, and you're maligning this great president.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON ADMINISTRATION
1. Went to bed.
2. Woke up.
3. Went back to bed.
4. Woke up again.
[a couple of dozen similar entries]
Oh, drat. I forgot about that other one. Yes, W.H.H.
I guess he was following the Hippocratic Oath and doing no harm.
Of course, when grown people refer to you as "Tippecanoe," not much is expected of you even if you're perfectly healthy.
Doing nothing isn't necessarily a bad thing in a President. I can think of at least a dozen past Presidents that I wish had done nothing.