I ran across this interesting little poll while surfing around the WWW. I http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr030516.asp ... Abraham Lincoln gets the most mentions from Americans at 15%, but not by a significant margin over the second-place finisher, Kennedy (13%). Two recent presidents, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, as well as the current president, are all mentioned by 10% or more of the public. Other presidents earning mentions from more than 5% of the public include Franklin D. Roosevelt and George Washington.
Gallup has asked this question four times since 1999, and over that period, Lincoln and Kennedy have typically rated near the top of the list. In 1999, Lincoln had a six-percentage-point lead over Washington, Kennedy, Reagan, and Clinton. Kennedy led the pack the next year, with a small four-percentage-point lead over Lincoln. Polling in 2001 and 2003 has found no clear-cut victor among the presidents mentioned, but Lincoln and Kennedy still appear near the top of the list. Reagan, with 18%, actually had the most mentions in 2001, probably due in part to the fact that the poll was conducted around celebrations of his 90th birthday. Who do you regard as the greatest United States president? 1. Abraham Lincoln 2. John Kennedy 3. Bill Clinton 4. George W. Bush 5. Ronald Reagan 6. Franklin Roosevelt 7. George Washington 8. Harry Truman 9. Jimmy Carter 10. Theodore Roosevelt 11. George Bush (the elder) 12. Thomas Jefferson 13. Dwight Eisenhower 14. Richard Nixon Republicans, Democrats Vary Substantially on Greatest U.S. President The latest polling finds dramatic (but not necessarily surprising) differences between the Republicans' and Democrats' choices for the greatest president in history. Three Democratic presidents -- Kennedy (25%), Clinton (21%), and Franklin Roosevelt (13%) -- are Democrats' most frequent choices as the greatest president. Lincoln is the only Republican president identified by a large number of Democrats, with 9% saying he is the greatest president. Among Republicans in this poll, 23% mention the current president. Lincoln is mentioned by 20%, 18% mention Reagan, and 9% mention Washington. No more than 3% of Republicans nominate any Democratic president as the greatest of all time. Independents have a more mixed view, with Lincoln, Kennedy, Clinton, and Franklin Roosevelt each getting between 11% and 16% of the votes. .... Rick ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
