How popular...

[PBrunsel]

If McKinley was so popular, how come he never got more than 52% of the vote?

That's why you need poll numbers to confirm that he was popular.

First of all no polling was done back then, or at least noticable polling.

Second of all, McKinley was very popular due to a popular war and he won the greatest Republican landslide since 1864 in 1900.

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Second of all, McKinley was very popular due to a popular war and he won the greatest Republican landslide since 1864 in 1900.

1900-1944 was landslide after landslide, with 1916 being the exception.

[PBrunsel]

Second of all, McKinley was very popular due to a popular war and he won the greatest Republican landslide since 1864 in 1900.

1900-1944 was landslide after landslide, with 1916 being the exception.

But that really does not matter much. My fact was McKinley proved popularity by having a popular war, a strong economy, booming business, and having the biggest landslide since 1864. I think that proves he was popular.

[A18]

If McKinley was so popular, how come he never got more than 52% of the vote?

That's why you need poll numbers to confirm that he was popular.

First of all no polling was done back then, or at least noticable polling.

Second of all, McKinley was very popular due to a popular war and he won the greatest Republican landslide since 1864 in 1900.

If 52% is a landslide, what is not a landslide?

McKinley did better in the electoral college, but in the popular vote, Grant did way better.

EDIT: I take that back. Grant did way better in the electoral college too.

[PBrunsel]

If McKinley was so popular, how come he never got more than 52% of the vote?

That's why you need poll numbers to confirm that he was popular.

First of all no polling was done back then, or at least noticable polling.

Second of all, McKinley was very popular due to a popular war and he won the greatest Republican landslide since 1864 in 1900.

If 52% is a landslide, what is not a landslide?

McKinley did better in the electoral college, but in the popular vote, Grant did way better.

EDIT: I take that back. Grant did way better in the electoral college too.

Thanks for proving my point that national mood is more important than polls. National mood favors war heroes after a long war, so Grant was elected by a landslide. In 1872 he was reelected by waving the bloody shirt, another national mood.

Let us not forget that from 1876-1896 no candidate recived a majority of the popular vote. McKinley did twice, and in a nation divded on gold or silver. He was popular all right.

[A18]

Polls reflect the national mood. What do you base his popularity on? The election results don't confirm it, although they would indicate he was perhaps more popular than past, then-recent presidents.

[PBrunsel]

What do you base his popularity on?

As I said, the national mood. I read about our Presidents and their connection with our nation's mood, then I make the assumption of if they were popular or no.

McKinley went to war, the nation wanted war, he was popular.

Harding promised "Normalcy", the nation wanted "normalcy", so he was popular.

Taft did not appease TR enough, the nation loved TR, so Taft was unpopular.

[J. J.]

What do you base his popularity on?

As I said, the national mood. I read about our Presidents and their connection with our nation's mood, then I make the assumption of if they were popular or no.

McKinley went to war, the nation wanted war, he was popular.

Harding promised "Normalcy", the nation wanted "normalcy", so he was popular.

Taft did not appease TR enough, the nation loved TR, so Taft was unpopular.

You are forgetting Teapot Dome.

[A18]

How do you know what the national mood was?

[PBrunsel]

How do you know what the national mood was?

Read up on Presidents. You could learn a lot about our national mood from them.

[Erc]

What do you base his popularity on?

As I said, the national mood. I read about our Presidents and their connection with our nation's mood, then I make the assumption of if they were popular or no.

McKinley went to war, the nation wanted war, he was popular.

Harding promised "Normalcy", the nation wanted "normalcy", so he was popular.

Taft did not appease TR enough, the nation loved TR, so Taft was unpopular.

You are forgetting Teapot Dome.

Which broke, very conveniently, after his death.  Which is why nobody likes Harding now, but he was loved at the time.

[Rob]

How do you know what the national mood was?

Historians have to look primarily at press accounts of the time.

[skybridge]

Would you say each of these presidents was while he was in office, on a scale of 1 to 5, the most popular being 5?

Might need to divide some presidencies into different time periods...

William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
William Taft
Woodrow Wilson
Warren Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover

McKinley - 4
Theodore Roosevelt - 5
William Taft - overall 3
Woodrow Wilson - hm, don't know
Harding - started as 5 ended as 1 so 3
Calvin Coolidge - 3.5
Herbert Hoover - started as 4 ended as 1 so 2-2.5