So presidential

Political scientists rank each POTUS’ greatness

Recent results from the 2018 Presidents & Executive Politics Presidential Greatness Survey rank American presidents, from Washington to Trump, based on opinions of current and recent members of the Presidents & Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association. Respondents were asked to rank each POTUS from 0 to 100, with 0 being failure, 50 being average and 100 equaling great. Abraham Lincoln, who came in first in the 2014 version of the poll, again topped the list for 2018. Notable moves on this year’s list include Barack Obama, who is No. 8, up from the 18th spot in 2014; and Ulysses S. Grant, who moved from 28 to 21. In his first appearance, Donald Trump ranked last on the list. (Grover Cleveland’s nonconsecutive terms mean that “45” is actually one of only 44 presidents total.) Respondents also overwhelmingly indicated that they’d like to see Franklin D. Roosevelt as the next addition to Mount Rushmore. In honor of Presidents Day Monday (Feb. 19), here are some highlights from the 2018 rankings, with scores in parentheses:

1. Abraham Lincoln (95.03)

2. George Washington (92.59)

3. Franklin D. Roosevelt (89.09)

4. Theodore Roosevelt (81.39)

5. Thomas Jefferson (79.54)

8. Barack Obama (71.13)

9. Ronald Reagan (69.24)

13. Bill Clinton (64.25)

16. John F. Kennedy (61.86)

30. George G.W. Bush (40.42)

33. Richard Nixon (37.18)

44. Donald Trump (12.34)