As a homage to President's Day, Gallup came out with its annual survey asking the American public to rank the presidents and offer up their vote for the greatest president. The survey is interesting, if silly, reflecting partisan preferences and historical ignorance more than anything else.
This year though, Gallup kept the scope of the question especially limited. They gave respondents a choice of five presidents (Washington, Lincoln, FDR, JFK, and Reagan) and asked them to pick the greatest of the five.
We'll come back to that in a minute.
The results of the poll were as follows...
Reagan came in first with 24%. Lincoln and JFK were tied for second with 22%. FDR finished third at 18%. The Father of Our Country came in last with 9%. The remaining 5% were unsure or didn't know. I'd like that five percent removed from the voter rolls please.
Ponder the absurdity of the choice for a moment. OK, now ponder the obscenity of the final result...
Nearly three times as many respondents picked Reagan or Kennedy over Washington. There is no other word for that than obscene. The man who led us to independence and nationhood, the man who singlehandedly prevented the rise of monarchy or dictatorship in the aftermath of our Revolution, the man who created a national government out of nothing, is swamped by the Twin Hairdos?
Furthermore, what are Reagan and JFK even doing in the question? Really! I yield to nobody in my admiration for Kennedy, but he was at most, a great president...Top Ten, sure, Top Five maybe, but a stretch...and why is Reagan in the mix AT ALL??!!??!!
The question should have been posed with regard to three, perhaps four presidents...Which of the following was the greatest president? Washington, Lincoln, FDR, TR?
