Pew Poll: Obama Greatest President in Our Lifetime

Former President Barack Obama was ranked the greatest president of most adults' lifetimes, according to a new poll from Pew Research Center.

Pew surveyed about 2,000 adults in June, asking, "which president has done the best job during your lifetime?"

About four-in-10 respondents chose Obama as their first or second choice when asked, with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan generally coming in at third and fourth in the rankings.

• 44 percent named Obama as their first or second choice.
• 33 percent named Clinton.
• 32 percent named Reagan.
• 19 percent named Donald Trump.
• 14 percent named George W. Bush.
• 12 percent named John F. Kennedy.
• 10 percent named George H.W. Bush.

No other president managed more than 4 percent.

The poll also found younger respondents tended to favor Obama, while older respondents gravitated toward Reagan. Republicans were also far more likely to prefer Reagan, while Democrats overwhelmingly chose Obama.

Millennials, those aged 22 to 37, were far more likely to choose Obama than any president besides Clinton, the only Democrats in office during their lifetimes. Generation X, ages 38 to 53, favored Reagan, followed by Obama and then Clinton. Baby Boomers, ages 54 to 72, tend to rank Reagan highest, followed by Obama and then Clinton. The Silent Generation, ages 73 to 90, largely prefer Reagan, followed by Kennedy and then Obama.

Pew contacted 2,002 adults in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., by phone June 5-12, 2018. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points.

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