Back in April I put together a master list of Presidential rankings using 18 widely published polls, the first beginning in 1948.
In July, I was able to add a new ranking put together with a different set of measurables. InsideGov ranked all the presidents on "influence," looking at such factors as:
* Number of executive orders.
* Number of years in office.
* Number of major foreign treaties signed.
* Number of years in charge of war.
* Number of Supreme Court appointments.
* Lasting impression.
The InsideGov ranking was skewed toward two-term presidents because the longer you are in office the more time you have to accomplish things. That made for a couple surprising choices. Abraham Lincoln, widely regarded as the greatest president, ranked just seventh on this list because of his short second term. Franklin Roosevelt, who served for more than twelve years, was No. 1. To see InsideGov's list, click here.
Still, it was a well thought ranking and nonpartisan so I added it to the 18 prior polls I had collected. It did change my overall rankings in several spots.
Rank, President, polls, average, (highest, lowest)
1. Abe Lincoln,19, 1.85, (highest, 1st, lowest, 7th)
2. Franklin Roosevelt, 19, 2.05 (highest, 1st, lowest, 3rd)
3. George Washington, 19, 2.68 (highest, 1st, lowest, 4th)
4. Theodore Roosevelt, 19, 4.68 (highest, 2nd, lowest, 7th)
5. Thomas Jefferson, 19, 4.74 (highest, 2nd, lowest, 8th)
6. Harry Truman, 18, 6.94 (highest, 4th, lowest, 9th)
7. Woodrow Wilson, 19, 6.95 (highest, 3rd, lowest, 11th)
8. Andrew Jackson, 19, 9.53 (highest, 5th, lowest, 14th)
9. Dwight Eisenhower, 18, 9.72 (highest, 6th, lowest, 22nd)
10. James Polk, 19, 11.84 (highest, 8th, lowest, 19th)
11. John Kennedy, 17, 12.47 (highest, 6th, lowest, 18th)
12. (tie) John Adams, 19, 13.05 (highest, 9th, lowest, 17th)
12. (tie) James Madison, 19, 13.05 (highest, 6th, lowest, 20th)
14. Lyndon Johnson, 17, 13.06 (highest, 10th, lowest, 18th)
15. James Monroe, 19, 14.11 (highest, 7th, lowest, 21st)
16. Ronald Reagan, 15, 14.47 (highest, 6th, lowest, 26th)
17. Barack Obama, 3, 15.67 (highest, 14th, lowest, 18th)
18. Grover Cleveland, 19, 16.74 (highest, 8th, lowest, 23rd)
19. William McKinley, 19, 17.16 (highest, 10th, lowest, 22nd)
20. John Quincy Adams, 19, 18.26 (highest, 11th, lowest, 25th)
21. Bill Clinton, 13, 18.30 (highest, 8th, lowest, 24th)
22. William Howard Taft, 19, 21.05 (highest, 16th, lowest, 29th)
23. George H.W. Bush, 14, 21.50 (highest, 17th, lowest, 31st)
24. Martin Van Buren, 19, 23.95 (highest, 15th, lowest, 40th)
25. Rutherford B. Hayes, 19, 24.63 (highest, 13th, lowest, 33rd)
26. Gerald Ford, 17, 26.35 (highest, 22nd, lowest, 34th)
27. Chester Arthur, 19, 26.74 (highest, 17th, lowest, 32nd)
28. Jimmy Carter, 17, 26.82 (highest, 18th, lowest, 34th)
29. Calvin Coolidge, 19, 28.11 (highest, 23rd, lowest, 36th)
30. Benjamin Harrison, 19, 28.26 (highest, 19th, lowest, 34th)
31. Herbert Hoover, 19, 28.79 (highest, 19th, lowest, 38th)
32. Richard Nixon, 17, 29.35 (highest, 19th, lowest, 38th)
33. James Garfield, 12, 30.33 (highest, 25th, lowest, 38th)
34. Zachary Taylor, 19, 30.37 (highest, 24th, lowest, 37th)
35. U.S. Grant, 19, 30.79 (highest, 18th, lowest, 38th)
36. John Tyler, 19, 32.89 (highest, 22nd, lowest, 37th)
37. Millard Fillmore, 19, 33.79 (highest, 24th, lowest, 42nd)
38. George W. Bush, 7, 34.86 (highest, 19th, lowest, 37th)
39. Andrew Johnson, 19, 35.68 (highest, 19th, lowest, 42nd)
40. William Henry Harrison, 12, 35.83 (highest, 26th, lowest, 43rd)
41. Franklin Pierce, 19, 36.47 (highest, 27th, lowest, 41st)
42. Warren Harding, 19, 37.68 (highest, 29th, lowest, 42nd)
43. James Buchanan, 19, 38.21 (highest, 26th, lowest, 43rd)
Theodore Roosevelt, Barack Obama, Chester Arthur and Calvin Coolidge each moved up one spot based on InsideGov's most influential rankings. Richard Nixon moved up two spots and George W. Bush jumped three spots.
Thomas Jefferson, Grover Cleveland, Jimmy Carter, Benjamin Harrison, James Garfield, Zachary Taylor and Franklin Pierce each dropped a spot and William Henry Harrison fell two spots.
