As Vote Stalemate Continues, New Wall Street Journal-Federalist Society Survey Rates America's Best and Worst Presidents.

Political Science & Business Editors

WASHINGTON & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 2000

Reagan Now Seen as "Near Great," Best in 50 Years

As Americans await the final choice of their next president, a new non-partisan poll of scholars by The Wall Street Journal and The Federalist Society ranks previous presidents in order of their greatness. The "top-line" findings are reported on the editorial features ("op-ed") page of today's Wall Street Journal, and are being discussed at The Federalist Society's National Convention opening today at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. Additional details, commentary and analysis will appear beginning today and continuing through December 10 on OpinionJournal.com, the web voice of the Journal's editorial page.

Among the highlights:

-- In line with other such surveys since 1948, the greatest presidents were
George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. The failures were
James Buchanan, Franklin Pierce and Andrew Johnson? all from the years just
before and after Lincoln? and Warren Harding.

-- The Federalist Society-Wall Street Journal rankings show Ronald Reagan
rising in reputation. Reagan now rates "near great" and as the best president
since Harry Truman? while his successors, George Bush and Bill Clinton, are
rated "average."

In coming days on OpinionJournal.com, the "Hail to the Chief" series will include:

-- A list of the most over-rated and under-rated presidents, with

analyses of each. Among the questions addressed will be why

Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson appear on both

lists.

-- Biographical material on all 78 participating scholars.

-- Unprecedented explanations of their own rankings by 20 of the

scholars.

-- Reader responses to all of this? and to each other.

Unlike previous surveys, including those by Prof. Arthur Schlesinger and his late father, The Federalist Society-Wall Street Journal study included scholars of law and politics as well as history. The group was intentionally balanced between the ideological left and right. The study was directed by Prof. Steven Calabresi, professor of law at Northwestern University and co-chairman of The Federalist Society, and Federalist Society lawyers' program director, Leonard Leo.

About OpinionJournal.com and The Wall Street Journal

Launched in August, OpinionJournal.com is the web voice of The Wall Street Journal's editorial page. It had more than 450,000 unique visitors in September and more than 800,000 in October. It features original columns each day by such noted political commentators as Peggy Noonan, Pete duPont, John Fund and others. OpinionJournal.com and The Wall Street Journal and its international and online editions are published by Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ; dj.com). In addition, Dow Jones publishes Barron's and SmartMoney magazines and other periodicals, the Ottaway group of community newspapers, Dow Jones Newswires, and Dow Jones Indexes. Dow Jones is co-owner with Reuters Group of Factiva, with Excite@Home of Work.com and with NBC of the CNBC television operations in Asia and Europe. Dow Jones also provides news content to CNBC and radio stations in the U.S.

About The Federalist Society

Founded in 1982, the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies is a group of conservatives and libertarians dedicated to reforming the current legal order. It is committed to the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be. The Society seeks to promote awareness of these principles and to further their application through its activities.