Former President Barack Obama is ranked as the 12th best U.S. president in C-SPAN's new survey of presidential historians, The Washington Examiner reports. It is Obama's first time appearing in the rankings, which do not include presidents who are currently serving.
"Although 12th is a respectable overall ranking, one would have thought that former President Obama's favorable rating when he left office would have translated into a higher ranking in this presidential survey," historian Edna Greene Medford said in a statement.
Another historian, Douglas Brinkley, called Obama's appearance at number 12 "impressive." As Medford noted, his relatively "low" number could be because "historians prefer to view the past from a distance, and only time will reveal his legacy."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The presidents were also ranked on their individual skills. Regarding Obama, Medford wrote: "I am especially surprised that he was ranked at 7th in moral authority (despite heading a scandal-free administration); 19th in administrative skills; and 8th in economic management (despite having helped to save the auto industry and significantly reducing unemployment)."
The top five presidents are Abraham Lincoln in the first spot, followed by George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, with "the golden age of the American presidency, according to this survey, [being] 1933-1969," historian Richard Norton Smith wrote.
As for the worst president? That goes to James Buchanan, who saw seven states secede from the Union under his watch. See the full rankings at C-Span here.
-
Frauds: ‘fantastically stylish’ crime heist caper is a ‘triumph’The Week Recommends Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker play a pair of ex-cons planning one last job
-
The struggles of Aston MartinIn the Spotlight The car manufacturer, famous for its association with the James Bond franchise, is ‘running out of road’
-
The end of ‘golden ticket’ asylum rightsThe Explainer Refugees lose automatic right to bring family over and must ‘earn’ indefinite right to remain
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
