The Dynamics of Presidential Legacies.

For decades scholars and public opinion organizations have been conducting surveys of experts and the mass public alike that rate and rank American presidents. These surveys provide empirical evidence of at least one dimension of a president's legacy -their historical reputation. As the number of such polls has increased, scholars have learned that these reputations vary - sometimes quite significantly - over time, with ratings of some presidents declining over time while others slowly crawl up the rankings ladder. Similarly, some presidents exhibit relatively static reputations across decades, while public and even expert opinion swings wildly for others. In this paper, we first observe and then analyze the way presidents from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush have performed in such polls after they left office. Upon identifying those that have changed significantly over time, we dig deeper, attempting to understand why. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]