Historical rankings of presidents of the United States former director of the University of Maryland's African American Leadership Institute, stated that Presidents ranked by how each one balanced the interests of majority interests and the interests of excluded groups was practical in respect to American debate on racial politics. Presidents have traditionally been ranked on personal qualities and their leadership ability to solve problems that move the nation in a positive direction. Walters stated there was a qualitative difference between white and African American intellectuals in evaluating presidents. In the 1996 "New York Times" poll by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., 31 white historians and one black historian ranked
Historical rankings of presidents of the United States 8–11, 2011, asked 665 American voters, based on what they know or remember about the nine most recent former presidents, whether they hold favorable or unfavorable views of how each handled his job in office. A Vision Critical/Angus Reid Public Opinion poll taken on February 18–19, 2011, asked 1,010 respondents about 11 former Presidents plus the current president and whether each was a good or bad President. A Gallup poll taken November 7–10, 2013, asked 1,039 adults in the United States the following question: "How do you think each of the following presidents will go down in history—as an outstanding