George W Bush's Initial Place Amongst His Peers

A late 2008 C-SPAN survey of American Political and American History academics has ranked President George W. Bush as the 36th best President out of the 43 Presidents. He is ahead of just notable disasters as Millard Fillmore (37), Warren Harding (38), William Harrison (39), Franklin Pierce (40), Andrew Johnson (41) and James Buchanan (42). He is just behind John Tyler (35) and Hubert Hoover (34).

The broad consensus is that George W was a very poor President who created more problems for the nation than he solved. Out ten to twenty years he may rise above Tyler, Hoover and Hayes, but I cannot see him moving above 30th in my lifetime.

For historians the top six are: Lincoln, Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy. I hold Washington ahead of Lincoln and Jefferson ahead of Theodore Roosevelt....Kennedy is not in the top six.