He'll Always Be Last To Me

In honor of President's Day, C-Span issued its Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership, with a number of presidential historians ranking the 42 former occupants of the White House on ten attributes of leadership. Not surprisingly, Abraham Lincoln was first, followed by George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman. Finishing last was James Buchanan. George W. Bush came in 36th, just beating out Millard Fillmore, who ranked 37th.

Obviously, a bit of nostalgia played into the rankings, since George W. Bush did not finish as the Worst. President.Ever. Other surveys, such as that conducted by the History News Network, put him in his rightful place as Worst.President.Ever. And he'll always be last for me.

I'm also sure that Will Bunch of Attytood, who has just written a new book on Ronald Reagan, Tear Down this Myth, will have something to say about Reagan's ranking at #10. His book came out just in time, as Bunch certainly has his work cut out for him on that one!

The complete Overall Ranking is also available. The C-SPAN Washington Journal video is also available, discussing the report.

(Via Think Progress)