Presidential poll likely to spark debate

Best president of one’s lifetime is limited by one’s age

A recent poll is likely to elicit passionate opinions. The Pew Research Center recently asked Americans, “Which president has done the best job during your lifetime?”

The answer? Barack Obama, with 44 percent of the respondents picking him as either their first choice (31 percent) or their second (13 percent).

The analysis is based on respondents’ first and second place choices.

Bill Clinton just squeaked into second place with 33 percent of the vote, with 13 percent picking him as their first choice, and 19 percent picking him as their second choice.

Ronald Reagan was just behind Clinton at 32 percent. President Donald Trump landed in fourth place, with 19 percent of the vote.

Pew notes that Obama was close to Trump’s numbers at the same point in his presidency, with 20 percent of the vote.

The research group also noted that one’s views of the best president of their lifetimes are tied in part to one’s age. Millennials (ages 22-37) are more likely to select Obama than older generations, Pew reports, while older generations are more likely than millennials to name Reagan — who was not president when millennials were born.

Gen X (ages 38-53), meanwhile, is more divided, with 45 percent choosing Reagan, 41 percent choosing Obama and 39 percent choosing Clinton, Pew reports.

The challenge with this study is the fact that one’s responses are limited by one’s age. A millennial is going to have a far different response than a baby boomer, simply by the fact that boomers have more choices.

The oldest of the millennials, at 37 years old, would have been born in 1981. That essentially eliminates Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman, all of whom are on the table for baby boomers, who were born between 1946-1964, according to Pew.

Given the parameters of each respondent’s age, the answer is likely a bit skewed. It would be an interesting comparison to ask the respondents a follow-up question — Which president, in the last 100 years, has done the best job? — and see how the responses change.

What do you think of the results, readers? Which president has done the best in your lifetime, and why?

Let us know. Share your thoughts online at www. YumaSun.com, or send in a Letter to the Editor at letters@yumasun.com.

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