WASHINGTON (February 15, 2009)--Just days after the nation marked the 200th anniversary of his birth, Abraham Lincoln has been ranked the nation's best president in a survey of 65 historians.

After Lincoln, the academics rated George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman as the best leaders overall.

Former President George W. Bush, who left office last month, was ranked 36th out of the 42 men who had been chief executive as of the end of 2008, according to the survey conducted by the cable channel C-SPAN.

It's only 42 because Grover Cleveland, who served two nonconsecutive terms, is counted twice.

Rated worst overall were from the bottom, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison and Warren G. Harding.

The survey was conducted in December and January.

Participants ranked each president on a scale of one to 10 on a list of 10 leadership qualities.

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