Bush More Popular Than Obama: Poll

In honor of Presidents' Day, pollsters have ranked the most popular presidents ever—and it turns out George W. Bush is slightly more popular than our current leader, at least by one measure. Some 46% of Americans see President Obama favorably, and 49% have a negative view of him, marking a 3-point favorability gap. Bush has just a one-point gap, with 45% approving and 46% disapproving of him, Public Policy Polling reports. Indeed, Republicans despise Obama more than any other demographic hates any other president—12% to 84%.

But that's likely to change after Obama leaves office, the pollsters say: Republicans loathed Bill Clinton, but they've come around on our 42nd president more than Dems have on Dubya. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular president ever is George Washington (89% favorability to 3% unfavorability), with Abraham Lincoln second (85% to 7%). Rounding out the top five are Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and John Adams. As for the least-loved, Richard Nixon tops the list (27% to 59%), with Lyndon Johnson, Warren Harding, Millard Fillmore, and Herbert Hoover behind him. (More George W. Bush stories.)