40% Consider Reagan Most Influential President Of Last 50 Years
Americans continue to believe Ronald Reagan is the most influential president of the last half century, but they are a bit more divided over which president should be next in line to be honored by a federal holiday.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 40% regard Reagan as the most influential president of the past 50 years. Bill Clinton is a distant second with 16%, closely followed by John F. Kennedy with 14%. Barack Obama, who is making his first appearance in this question, comes in fourth with 11%. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Just five percent (5%) say Richard Nixon was most influential, followed by Lyndon B. Johnson (4%). Both Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush are seen as the most influential by three percent (3%), while just one percent (1%) see George H.W. Bush that way.
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The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on February 15-16, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.