George W. Bush’s legacy by the numbers

By on April 25, 2013 at 1:16 PM

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With the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas today, historians and political pundits are taking a second look at the 43rd president’s legacy.

We’d like to offer you a dispassionate view of the Bush record, culled from objective data. Here’s a sampling:

ECONOMIC GROWTH:

GDP growth, adjusted for inflation, for each president

President Real GDP Growth Ranking
Franklin D. Roosevelt + 9.6 % 1 of 13
John F. Kennedy +5.2% 2 of 13
Lyndon Johnson +5.1% 3 of 13
Bill Clinton +3.6% 4 of 13
Dwight Eisenhower +3.6% 5 of 13
Ronald Reagan +3.5% 6 of 13
Jimmy Carter +3.2% 7 of 13
Richard Nixon +3.0% 8 of 13
George W. Bush +2.2% 9 of 13
Gerald Ford +2.1% 10 of 13
George H.W. Bush +2.1% 11 of 13
Harry Truman +1.1% 12 of 13
Herbert Hoover -15.0% 13 of 13

 

JOB CREATION:

President Percentage increase in jobs Ranking
Lyndon Johnson 3.8% 1 of 11
Jimmy Carter 3.1% 2 of 11
Bill Clinton 2.4% 3 of 11
John F. Kennedy 2.3% 4 of 11
Harry Truman 2.2% 5 of 11
Richard Nixon 2.2% 6 of 11
Ronald Reagan 2.1% 7 of 11
Gerald Ford 1.1% 8 of 11
Dwight Eisenhower 0.9% 9 of 11
George H.W.Bush 0.6% 10 of 11
George W. Bush 0.3% 11 of 11

Source: Washington Post data

WORKERS’ INCOME:

Inflation-adjusted changes in per capita income

President Percentage change Ranking
Lyndon Johnson 4.1% 1 of 11
John F. Kennedy 3.1% 2 of 11
Ronald Reagan 2.7% 3 of 11
Richard Nixon 2.6% 4 of 11
Bill Clinton 2.3% 5 of 11
Gerald Ford 2.1% 6 of 11
Jimmy Carter 1.8% 7 of 11
George W. Bush 1.3% 8 of 11
Dwight Eisenhower 1.3% 8 of 11
Harry Truman 0.8% 10 of 11
George H.W. Bush 0.1% 11 of 11

Source: Washington Post data

INCREASE IN GOVERNMENT DEBT:

Increase in the national debt during each presidency

President Increase in national debt Ranking
Franklin D. Roosevelt 929% 1 of 12
Ronald Reagan 179% 2 of 12
George W. Bush 88% 3 of 12
Richard Nixon 49% 4 of 12
Jimmy Carter 42% 5 of 12
Bill Clinton 40% 6T of 12
George H.W. Bush 40% 6T of 12
Gerald Ford 22% 8 of 12
Dwight Eisenhower 20% 9 of 12
Harry Truman 20% 10 of 12
Lyndon Johnson 13% 11 of 12
John F. Kennedy 10% 12 of 12

Source: Houston Chronicle analysis of government data

 

STOCK MARKET PERFORMANCE:

Dow Jones Average’s annual change during each presidency

President Stock market change Ranking
Bill Clinton +28% 1 of 13
Dwight Eisenhower +21% 2 of 13
Franklin D. Roosevelt +17% 3T of 13
Ronald Reagan +17% 4T of 13
Harry Truman +16% 5T of 13
Gerald Ford +16% 5T of 13
George H.W. Bush +11% 7 of 13
Lyndon Johnson +6% 8T of 13
John F. Kennedy +6% 8T of 13
Jimmy Carter No change 10 of 13
George W. Bush -2% 11 of 13
Richard Nixon -3% 12 of 13
Herbert Hoover -20% 13 of 13

END-OF-TERM JOB APPROVAL:

Job approval at the end of each presidency

President Final approval rating Ranking
Franklin D. Roosevelt 72% 1 of 12
Bill Clinton 65% 2 of 12
Ronald Reagan 64% 3 of 12
John F. Kennedy 63% 4 of 12
Dwight Eisenhower 59% 5 of 12
Lyndon Johnson 49% 6 of 12
George H.W. Bush 56% 7 of 12
Gerald Ford 53% 8 of 12
Jimmy Carter 34% 9 of 12
Harry Truman 32% 10 of 12
George W. Bush 27% 11 of 12
Richard Nixon 24% 12 of 12

JOB APPROVAL (HIGHEST POINT):

Highest approval ratings of each presidency

President Highest rating Ranking
George W. Bush 92% 1 of 12
George H.W. Bush 89% 2 of 12
Harry Truman 87% 3 of 12
Franklin D. Roosevelt 84% 4 of 12
Lyndon Johnson 80% 5T of 12
John F. Kennedy 80% 6T of 12
Dwight Eisenhower 79% 7 of 12
Jimmy Carter 75% 8 of 12
Gerald Ford 74% 9 of 12
Bill Clinton 73% 10 of 12
Ronald Reagan 68% 11 of 12
Richard Nixon 67% 12 of 12

Source: University of Connecticut, Roper Center

JOB APPROVAL (LOWEST POINT):

Lowest approval rating of each presidency

President Lowest rating Ranking
George W. Bush 19% 1 of 12
Harry Truman 22% 2 of 12
Richard Nixon 23% 3 of 12
Jimmy Carter 28% 4 of 12
George H.W. Bush 29% 5 of 12
Ronald Reagan 35% 6T of 12
Lyndon Johnson 35% 6T of 12
Bill Clinton 36% 8 of 12
Gerald Ford 37% 9 of 12
Franklin D. Roosevelt 48% 10T of 12
Dwight Eisenhower 48% 10T of 12
John F. Kennedy 56% 12 of 12

Source: University of Connecticut, Roper Center

U.S. STANDING IN THE WORLD:

Favorable image of the United States

Country 2000 rating 2008 rating Change
Nigeria 46% 64% +18
South Korea 58% 70% +12
Russia 37% 46% +9
India 66% 66% 0
Pakistan 23% 19% -4
South Africa 65% 60% -5
Brazil 56% 47% -9
Spain 50% 33% -17
Poland 86% 68% -18
France 64% 44% -20
Mexico 68% 47% -21
Argentina 50% 22% -28
Japan 77% 50% -27
Great Britain 83% 53% -30
Indonesia 75% 37% -38
Turkey 52% 12% -40
Germany 78% 31% -47

Note: The initial surveys in South Africa and India were conducted in 2002.

Source: The Pew Research Center

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To read Rick Dunham’s comprehensive report on President Bush’s legacy, click here.