Reagan, Teflon and the Real Data

Here are comparison graphs of Reagan vs. each other president since the approval ratings began in 1937. Get ready for a trip down memory lane! In each case Reagan's ratings are in green and the comparison president is in blue. Does Reagan stand out from the pack? Here's the raw data. Judge for yourself.

[For those of you who don't remember or wern't around, the sequence of presidents is Roosevelt (FDR), Truman (HST), Eisenhower (DDE), Kennedy (JFK), Johnson (LBJ), Nixon (RMN), Ford (GRF), Carter (JEC), Reagan, Bush (GHWB), Clinton (WJC), Bush (GWB). These graphs are based on the Gallup Approval Rating as described in Presidential Approval in Perspective, by Charles H. Franklin, University of Wisconsin, Madison.]

These graphs are based on data through October 13, 2003. George W. Bush's numbers have continuously dropped during his term, spiked only by 911 and the war in Iraq. His approval ratings are shown below through May, 2006. The ongoing data is available (with better resolution) at the Dr. Pollkatz web site.

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