Here they are, as ranked by people in the field of presidential studies who were interviewed by NPR:1) Bill Clinton2) John F. Kennedy3) Theodore Roosevelt4) Ronald Reagan5) Thomas Jefferson6) Franklin D. Roosevelt7) George W. BushObservations: first, no Obama. I'm guessing he'll have to wait to get on the list. Second, the list seems to be weighted by the twentieth century, probably for the reason that it's hard to gauge the "cool" factor on second-hand accounts alone. Third, the definition(s) for "cool" used for this list were somewhat specific: "On one hand, presidential cool can refer to a president's ability to charm others, defy convention and appear hip — exemplified by Clinton's saxophone playing and Kennedy's movie-grade glamour. But it also can refer to a president's unflappable and seemingly detached manner."The 7 Coolest Presidents In American History
Apparently the “coolest” presidents are the ones that the public also thinks governs the best. A poll was conducted to see which president people would like to see back in office:
Asked who they would most want to bring back, 24 percent of adults chose Reagan, 21 percent chose Clinton and 13 percent chose Kennedy. Abraham Lincoln was next, at 9 percent.
I wouldn't mind seeing Reagan back in office. Also despite all his faults, and they were many, Clinton was actually a pretty good president and he would have been judged more favorably if he could have kept his pants zipped. Clinton knew how to deal to achieve actual compromise so both parties did not walk away from a deal feeling like they got screwed.
Clinton gets better with Obama in office. Back in 2008, I figured Hillary would govern like Bill if she were in office – left of center, but more political animal than liberal ideologue. At the same time, I figured that Obama was more of an ideologue and therefore more dangerous if he got into office.