Political scientists rank Presidential greatness

Political scientists rank Presidential greatness

Liberal political scientists rated Lincoln #2, while conservatives preferred Washington. Lincoln was #1 in the combined totals, with Washington second and the two Roosevelts in the next two spots.

Opinions were sharply divided on three modern presidents:

• Ronald Reagan. Conservatives rated him #3, behind Lincoln and Washington, but ahead of the Roosevelts. Liberals rated him 14th. Independents placed him 7th.
  
• LBJ. Liberals ranked him 8th while conservatives placed him 20th. Independents rank him 13th.
  
• Obama. Liberals rated him #6, while conservatives place him well down the pack at #22, barely ahead of Dubya and Gerald Ford.
  

There was no division of opinion about Trump. He placed dead last overall, and not significantly better from any group of scholars. Independents placed him second-last, ahead of Buchanan, but still behind "Tippecanoe" Harrison, who did nothing at all! Conservatives placed him ahead of only four 19th-century incompetents: James Buchanan, William Henry Harrison, Andrew Johnson and Franklin Pierce (but still behind such acknowledged nincompoops as Millard Fillmore and Warren Harding).

In the poll for a fifth head on Mt. Rushmore, FDR is the overwhelming choice.

As a libertarian, I strongly object to these findings. I rank William Henry Harrison #1. He fell deathly ill three weeks after his inauguration and died nine days later, having done absolutely nothing. He didn't even have time to select his office chair. He is the libertarian ideal. I say scrape the other four heads off Mt. Rushmore and just dedicate the entire mountain to Tippecanoe.