Reagan
by the Numbers:
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Loudonville, NY – At the passing of Ronald Reagan, the founders of the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI) take a look back at the man and how he has ranked in its series of nationally-recognized surveys of U.S. Presidents that was begun during his first administration.
In its 2002 survey[1], Reagan, was ranked among the top ten in 30% of the twenty categories used in the equation. In the twentieth category, “present overall view,” he was ranked 14th – which placed him in the top third of the forty-two men[2] who have served as president. His overall ranking was 16th.
The SRI Survey of U.S. Presidents is conducted during the second year of the first term of a new president. SRI began surveying expert opinion on the presidency in 1982 during the first term of Ronald Reagan, and continued during the terms of George H. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Based on the responses of over 200 history and political science experts from American colleges and universities, the SRI Survey of U.S. Presidents has been reported in two articles (Summer 1997; Fall 2003) in Presidential Studies Quarterly, a refereed journal published by the Center for the Study of the Presidency, and has been cited in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and in various local, regional, national and world news media.
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“In SRI’s 2002 survey, President Reagan’s overall rank of 16 out of 42 presidents shows a progressive improvement in his rankings, having placed 22nd in 1990 and 20th in 1994,” notes Dr. Douglas Lonnstrom, SRI director and professor of statistics at Siena College. “He also placed in the top 10 in 6 of 20 criteria used to determine the overall ranking.” |
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His “Top 10” rankings include: Avoid crucial mistakes:
10th Leadership ability: 9th Relationship with Congress: 9th Communication ability:
7th Party Leadership: 5th Luck: 3rd |
“Given the degree of success that President Reagan enjoyed with various programs and legislation, without the benefit of his party’s control of both houses of Congress, his top ten rankings in leadership, party leadership, relationship with Congress and communication ability come as no surprise,” says Thomas Kelly, professor-emeritus at Siena College and co-founder of SRI and the Presidents’ Survey with Dr. Lonnstrom.
In the SRI survey, Background encompasses family, education and experience. “Reagan’s background - including his father’s alcoholism, his family’s economic status, and a bachelor’s degree from a non-Ivy League college - would explain low grades in this category, despite the experience that two terms as governor of California and serving as president of the Screen Actors’ Guild provide,” Kelly explains.
“SRI research has indicated that a minimum of forty or more years is required before a president’s ranking begins to assume permanence,” Kelly notes. “President Reagan left the presidency only fifteen years ago. His modest rise in rank since then may bode well for him, but we do not yet know.”
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For more information, visit the SRI website for the 2002 Survey of
American Presidents
(http://www.siena.edu/sri/results/2002/02AugPresidentsSurvey.htm).
Call Doug Lonnstrom or Tom Kelly for comment: 518-783-2362 (office) or
518-456-6073 (home).
Top Rankings, by category, 2002:
|
Luck |
Party Leadership |
Communication Ability |
1. T. Roosevelt (3)
|
1. F. Roosevelt (1) |
1. F. Roosevelt (1) |
2. Washington (4)
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2. Jackson (13) |
2. Lincoln (2) |
3. Reagan (16)
|
3. Jefferson (5) |
3. T. Roosevelt (3) |
|
4. F. Roosevelt (1) |
4. L. Johnson (15) |
4. Jefferson (5) |
|
5. Jackson (13) |
5. Reagan (16) |
5. Kennedy (14) |
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6. Jefferson (5) |
6. Lincoln (2) |
6. Wilson (6) |
|
7. Polk (11) |
7. T. Roosevelt (3) |
7. Reagan (16) |
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8. Monroe (8) |
8. Wilson (6) |
8. Clinton (18) |
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9. Eisenhower (10) |
9. Madison (9) |
9. Madison (9) |
|
10. G.W. Bush (23) |
10. Polk (11) |
10. J. Adams (12) |
( ) indicates 2002 overall rank
|
Relationship with Congress |
Leadership Ability |
Avoid Crucial Mistakes |
|
1. F. Roosevelt (1) |
1. Washington (4) |
1. Washington (4) |
|
2. L. Johnson (15) |
1. F. Roosevelt (1) |
2. Lincoln (2) |
|
3. Washington (4) |
3. Lincoln (2) |
3. F. Roosevelt (1) |
|
4. Jefferson (5) |
4. T. Roosevelt (3) |
4. T. Roosevelt (3) |
|
5. T. Roosevelt (3) |
5. Jackson (13) |
5. Monroe (8) |
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6. Lincoln (2) |
6. Jefferson (5) |
6. Eisenhower (10) |
|
7. Monroe (8) |
7. Eisenhower (10) |
7. Jefferson (5) |
|
8. Eisenhower (10) |
8. Truman (7) |
8. Polk (11) |
|
9. Polk (11) |
9. Kennedy (14) |
9. Truman (7) |
|
9. Reagan (16) |
9.Reagan (16) |
10. Reagan (16) |
( ) indicates 2002 overall rank
Bottom rankings, by category, 2002:
|
Background (family, education, experience) |
Intelligence |
|
33. Truman (7) |
33. Ford (28) |
|
34. Taylor (34) |
34. Taylor (34) |
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35. Jackson (13) |
35. W. Harrison (36) |
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36. Pierce (39) |
36. Pierce (39) |
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37. Reagan (16) |
36. Reagan (16) |
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38. Grant (35) |
38. Fillmore (38) |
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39. Fillmore (38) |
39. Buchanan (41) |
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40. Arthur (30) |
40. G.W. Bush (23) |
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41. Harding (40) |
41. A. Johnson (42) |
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42. A. Johnson (42) |
42. Harding (40) |
( ) indicates 2002 overall rank
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Results
of Siena Research Institute Presidential Ranking Survey Presidents
Since WWII |
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Rank in Survey Year |
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|
President |
1982 |
1990 |
1994 |
2002 |
|
F. Roosevelt |
01 |
01 |
01 |
01 |
|
Truman |
07 |
07 |
07 |
07 |
Eisenhower |
11 |
12 |
08 |
10 |
|
Kennedy |
08 |
10 |
10 |
14 |
|
L.
Johnson |
14 |
15 |
13 |
15 |
Nixon
|
28 |
25 |
23 |
26 |
Ford |
23 |
27 |
32 |
28 |
|
Carter |
33 |
24 |
25 |
25 |
Reagan |
16 |
22 |
20 |
16 |
G. H. Bush |
- |
18 |
31 |
22 |
|
Clinton |
- |
- |
16 |
18 |
G.W. Bush |
- |
- |
- |
23 |
(Republicans in Italics)