My Favorite Survey Ever

C-SPAN recently released the results of its 2009 Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership, in which sixty-five presidential historians ranked all of the previous Presidents on ten attributes of leadership. Mr. Bush was ranked 36th out of the 42 former occupants of the White House. (I obviously feel that he should be ranked last but you take what you can get.) And although Mr. Bush ranks below such Presidents as Herbert Hoover (Great Depression) and Richard Nixon (Watergate), here are the six individuals below him:

37. Millard Fillmore: As part of the Compromise of 1850, Fillmore signed the Fugitive Slave Act, which declared that all runaway slaves be returned to their masters.
38. Warren Harding: After Harding appointed many of his allies to prominent political positions, various scandals erupted, most infamously the Teapot Dome scandal.
39. William Henry Harrison: Delivering an inaugural address which lasted almost two hours and contained 8,444 words (the longest in history), Harrison did so in a cold and wet day without a hat or overcoat. As a result, Harrison passed away on his 32nd day in office. Yes, Mr. Bush was able to beat someone whose presidency lasted just over a month.
40. Franklin Pierce: By signing the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, Pierce provided settlers in those territories with the ability to determine if slavery would be allowed within their boundaries.
41. Andrew Johnson: An ardent white supremacist, Johnson opposed multiple initiatives of Reconstruction, including the 14th Amendment. Due to his actions, Johnson was the first U.S. President to be impeached. (Oh, that sure would have been nice during the last eight years.)
42. James Buchanan: Aside from numerous other poor decisions, Buchanan's inability to avoid the Civil War has been assessed as the worst single failure by any President of the United States.

In regards to the specific categories, Mr. Bush is ranked next-to-last in the area of international relations, just above William Henry Harrison (yes, the guy who died a month into his presidency). For economic management, Mr. Bush is only ranked above Herbert Hoover and James Buchanan.