Good Riddance
Goodbye to the Worst President in 68 Years

by Roy Mark
            24 January 2009

Well, he’s gone, - the most unpopular U.S. President in more than 68 years; that according to Gallop polling that began in 1941.  Many have said, “good riddance” while some still praise his performance.  This analysis however is not an evaluation of his performance, but rather a look at his approval ratings, as defined by Gallop polling and to compare his low numbers with other unpopular presidents.   

This analysis is based on data that was collected by and analyzed by The American Presidency Project at the University of California Santa Barbara, conducted by John Woolley and Gerhart Peters.  The project adapted data from the Gallop Poll which asked the question, “Do you approve or disapprove of the way [first & last name] is handling his job as President?  The data then is a reflection of the mood of the American public at various times during the presidency of the 12 men that held that high office from 1941 through 2008. 

Many Americans were shocked when he actually became president, but his approval ratings soon reached a phenomenal 91%.  By contrast, John Kennedy’s approval rating never reached 80%.  As reality began to register with the American public, the President’s approval rating began to drop, revealing a more skeptical public.  Even so, during the first six months of his second term his approval rating was still a respectable 50%.  It was downhill from there, never again seeing a majority of Americans approving of his performance.  With the U.S. mired in a seemingly endless and unpopular war, the President’s numbers began to fade.  Gallop recorded his lowest approval rating during his last year in office; at one point just 22% of Americans approved of the way he was handling his job as President. 

The President’s average approval rating during two terms was only 42%.  What a dismal record, - worse even than Nixon’s average of 47% and Carter’s 46%; much worse than the first Bush’s impressive 60% average approval rating. 

 No wonder the nation is glad to be rid of this most unpopular president, but why discuss it now, fifty-six years after Harry S. Truman left office.  Perhaps because we, with our time prospective tunnel vision cannot see current events in an historical perspective.   

Harry Truman was indeed a very unpopular president.  Since 1941 when polling began, 5 of the 12 U.S. presidents scored less than 30% approval rating at some point during their administrations.  Harry Truman and Richard Nixon tied as the most disapproved of Presidents with identical low-point approval ratings of 22%.  They were followed by George W. Bush at 25%, Jimmy Carter at 28% and George H. W. Bush at 29%. 

Poll numbers are not constant, but rather fluctuate with current events and the public’s perception of the President’s performance.  It is ironic that three of the worst at the low point in their administrations are also the best at their pinnacle.  Amazingly, Harry Truman’s approval rating peaked at 91%, undoubtedly skewed by the sympathy the public felt after the sudden death of his predecessor, Franklin Roosevelt.  George W. and George H. W. Bush tied as the second most approved of President both scoring 89% approval rating.  Perhaps bold decision-making is a double-edged sword when Gallop takes opinion polls. 

12 Presidents since 1941 and their Highest Approval Ratings

Truman then ranked as the worst and the best but perhaps labeling a president, “best” or “worst” based on his single highest or single lowest approval rating is not considering the whole picture.  Perhaps the average of all of the polls during his administration would be a more appropriate evaluation of his performance.  Since Truman’s approval ratings were so dismal during his second term, he managed to come in with the lowest overall average of all 12 presidents since 1941.  Truman’s average of 42% was less than Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, both averaging 46%, less than Richard Nixon’s average of 47% and George W. Bush’s 51%. 

12 Presidents since 1941 and their Average Approval Ratings

The mantra that George W. Bush was the worst president ever, as least in terms of the opinion polls of the day, is entirely unfounded.  George W. Bush’s average approval rating of 51% exceeds Nixon’s average by 4 points, Carter’s by 5 points and Truman’s average by 9.  George W. Bush’s worst showing was 3 points better than Truman’s and Nixon’s.  His best was 15 points better than Carter’s, 18 points better than Clinton’s and 23 points better than Nixon’s.  

Putting the numbers into perspective indicates that George W. Bush was not the most unpopular president that many people assert.  In fact, of the 12 presidents polled by Gallop since 1941 George W. Bush had the third best single approval rating behind Harry Truman and George H. W. Bush.  His worst single approval rating was better than Truman, Carter, Ford and Nixon.  George W. Bush’s “average” was just that, - average.  At 51% his average scored behind Roosevelt, Kennedy, Eisenhower, George H. W. Bush, Clinton and Johnson and ahead of Nixon, Carter, Ford and Truman.   

The Gallop poll is but a snapshot of the sentiment of the time.  Historians have rehabilitated Truman’s image to the extent that most people consider him one of the U.S.’s better presidents.  That was not the opinion of his constituents.  How future historians will write George W. Bush’s place into the history books of the mid twenty-fist century remains to be seen.