1. How are Presidents actually Judged?
Arthur Schlesinger Sr.’s 1948 survey of historians on the
grade of each president
“great” “near great” “average” “below average” &“failure”
Does evaluation of presidents change over time?
Not much, but some exceptions
Truman (↑) and Eisenhower (↓)
Do scholars and citizens employ different evaluation standards?
What standards would you use when you
evaluate presidents?

2. Ratings of Presidential Performance
WSJ Survey in 2000
C-SPAN 2009 Survey
leadership-survey.aspx
Leadership Characteristics (C-SPAN)
Public Persuasion
Crisis Leadership
Economic Management
Moral Authority
International Relations
Administrative Skills
Relations with Congress
Vision/Setting An Agenda
Pursued Equal Justice For All
Performance within Context of Times

3. C-SPAN 2009 Survey (Top 1st through 25th)

4. C-SPAN 2009 Survey (26th through 42nd)