Worst Presidents: A Survey of Major Polls
Ten points awarded to the lowest president on any list; nine to the second-lowest and so on
| President | C-SPAN, 1999 | Wall Street Journal, 2005 | Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., 1996 | Siena Poll, 2002 | Ridings-McIver Poll, 1996 | Total Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Buchanan | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 47 | 1 |
| Warren G. Harding | 7 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 44 | 2 |
| Andrew Johnson | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 42 | 3 |
| Franklin Pierce | 8 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 31 | 4 |
| Millard Fillmore | 4 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 23 | 5 |
| John Tyler | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 6 |
| Ulysses S. Grant | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 7 |
| William Harrison | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 8 |
| Herbert Hoover | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10 | T-9 |
| Richard Nixon | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 10 | T-9 |
| Zachary Taylor | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| Jimmy Carter | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 |
| Calvin Coolidge | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| James Garfield | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | T-13 |
| Chester Arthur | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T-13 |
Reader Comments
George W Bush
I wondered why Dubya didn't show up on your list, but now I know. You're taking the average of 5 polls, 3 of which were taken before Bush stole the 2000 election.
Bush is the ONLY president to condone torture.
'Nuff said.
He is the worst president ever, and as Chris Rock says, that includes PTA presidents, presidents of the local Rotary Club, etc...
Please Grow Up
Obama has't been President for 250 days. He didn't get us into debt, war and all the other nonsense that we've spent the last 8 years in. Bush gets full credit for that.
All you people who expected him to solve everything before Easter, be realistic. It took 8 years to get into this mess, it's going to take more than 20 days to get out of it. And if you still have a problem in 2012, you can always run for President yourselves. Lets see how you do, with people judging your every move and desision.
Side Note -
Bush should really be on this list. Starting a war that STILL is not over yet, causing this financial crisis, screwing up healthcare and so many much more.
What about Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Obama
Woodrow Wilson has to be in the top three worst presidents of all time, slimly beating Obama and FDR. Let us start by admitting Wilson is the father of Liberalism. Enough said there right! Look at FDR and the massive expansion of government and brainwashing of the nation. Speaking as a historian, this guy was a joke. And just look at the first bit of Obama's tenure. 9 trillion in debt, horrific foreign and domestic policy, shreading of the Constitution (which he calls "an obsticle"), Messiah complex, awful understanding of what America is. Please, let me stop now because I can go for hours on this loser.
advertisement
