Poll: Obama Bests Clinton in Communicating

Ronald Reagan is still the "Great Communicator," but a new Washington Whispers poll finds that President Obama isn't so far back. 

At a time when the president's communications skills are being questioned because his agenda is stalled, Americans continue to see Obama as doing a better job of getting his point across than the last Democrat to have the job, Bill Clinton. But even though his presidency was nearly five decades ago, John F. Kennedy is still seen as a better communicator than either Obama or Clinton. 

To frame our question, Whispers decided to look only at modern presidents dating back to Franklin D. Roosevelt, figuring people would be familiar with their styles. Here's what our pollster Synovate eNation found:

Since being elected, President Obama has been called a great communicator by the media, something said about other recent presidents. Who do you think has been the greatest modern presidential communicator?

Ronald Reagan 32%

John F. Kennedy 22%

Barack Obama 17%

Bill Clinton 16%

Franklin D. Roosevelt 13% 

Source: The Synovate eNation Internet poll was conducted February 25–March 1 among 1,000 nationally representative households by global market research firm Synovate.  

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