Upon further review... How President Obama ranks among his peers one year after exiting the Presidency
Bottom Line: In the polling age we've had a tradition with our former Presidents. Our generally more favorable view of them one year after they've left office. It makes sense. Being out of the headlines, the contentious issues of the day, policy decisions, etc. has a way of creating a more positive outlook of them in hindsight. Gallup has polled Americans on this question every cycle since JFK's exit from the Oval office. So where does President Obama fit in? He's fourth. Here are the favorably ratings one year later for each of our last ten presidents.
Favorability ratings one year after leaving office:
Kennedy: 86%
Reagan: 72%
G.H.W. Bush: 64%
Obama: 63%
Clinton: 62%
Ford: 58%
Carter: 55%
G.W. Bush: 53%
Johnson: 48%
Nixon: 28%
So, there you go. Right between a Bush and a Clinton sits President Obama with a favorability rating that's risen by about ten points over the past year. It's notable how generally favorable our reflective view is of our Presidents after the fact. With only Johnson and Nixon below 50% a year after being out of office - you have a sense of just how disliked they really were. Even two one-term presidents (Carter and G.H.W. Bush) had solid favorability after the fact. In fact, isn't it interesting that George H.W. Bush had higher ratings one year later than the President who defeated him? If you're looking for silver linings in today's hyper-partisan/negative political environment, most do still take a less partisan longer-term view of things when they're not caught up in the moment. ,