Thursday, February 28, 2008 8:11 PM
Franklin D. Roosevelt has retained his top ranking among the greatest presidents of the modern era, a new nationwide Zogby International telephone poll shows. Roosevelt has dominated Zogby's Presidential Greatness survey since 1997 - only losing out to John F. Kennedy in 2006 and 2002. -------
Ronald Reagan holds on to his third-ranked spot this year, with 62% of those surveyed giving him a combined great or near great ranking - a slight increase from the 59% positive rankings in last year's survey. Reagan has continued to rank highly in Zogby's Presidential Greatness surveys since his death in 2004.
Among living presidents, Bill Clinton continues to be ranked highest at 42% - while the other three trail behind on the greatness scale at 27% for George H.W. Bush, 25% for Jimmy Carter, and just 22% for George W. Bush.