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“It's the War, Stupid!”: Determinants of Retrospective Evaluations of American Presidents
Author(s) -
King James D.,
McConnell Jason B.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/psq.12675
Subject(s) - prosperity , political science , public opinion , administration (probate law) , public administration , law , political economy , sociology , politics
Public opinion of presidents after they have left office is primarily the product of whether or not their administration entangled the United States in an unpopular military conflict. Using data from Gallup polls, we demonstrate that the forces of peace and prosperity drive approval ratings of former presidents when out of office but do not impact public assessments equally. A former president’s popular standing is tarnished more by association with an unpopular war than it is enhanced by economic prosperity.