Former President Jimmy Carter "has had the best post presidency" say 40 percent of American voters, including 29 percent of Republicans and 49 percent of Democrats, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today.
Hold that thought, but keep reading.
President Ronald Reagan is the next best ex-president, 24 percent of voters say, with 19 percent for President Bill Clinton, 6 percent for George W. Bush and 5 percent for President George H.W. Bush, the independent poll found. From the press release:
"Pummeled for his presidency but praised for how he conducted his post White House life, Jimmy Carter far surpasses Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton for what he accomplished once he left the Oval Office," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
You can find the questions and demographic breakdowns here. What goes unmentioned by Quinnipiac is the sharp racial turn this question takes.
Forty-seven percent of African-Americans say that Bill Clinton, not Jimmy Carter, has had the best post-presidency. That’s a figure that will continue to matter in 2016. Thirty-five percent of black voters surveyed give the best post-president award to Carter.
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