Former President Barack Obama remains a popular figure on the left, and was recently recruited to do a campaign ad for President Joe Biden.

Not everyone has such a high opinion of the former president, however, with a recent poll ranking him as the most overrated political figure. 

Obama "far and away" seen as most overrated

According to The Washington Times, the survey was conducted by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity among a diverse group of 120 "influential conservative thought makers."

"For the most overrated category, the person who was far and away the leading choice was Barack Obama," the right-leaning group was quoted as saying in a statement.

"Note, the respondents were NOT asked to choose the best and worst political leader, but rather, who do they believe the history books over- and underrate," it explained.

We did an informal poll of conservative leaders on who the most overrated/underrated political figures of all time are. Some great results to take you into the weekend! https://t.co/wliH1sZ5Vo

— Unleash Prosperity (@Comm4Prosperity) December 29, 2023

"George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, for example, were only selected by a few as underrated, because they are generally rated highly already," the statement continued.

FDR and Woodrow Wilson also regarded as overrated

Behind Obama, the second most overrated figure was listed as being President Franklin Roosevelt, with President Woodrow Wilson coming in third place.

The Committee to Unleash Prosperity pointed out how this stands in sharp contrast among liberal historians, who almost always characterize Roosevelt and Wilson as being "great" presidents.

Meanwhile, President Calvin Coolidge was listed as being the most underrated figure, followed by Presidents Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan.

The statement pointed out that "Joe Biden only received a few votes for most overrated, because he is generally rated poorly already."

Biden's approval rating hits record low

The claim about President Joe Biden being "generally rated poorly" is strongly supported by polling data, with a recent survey carried out between December 1 and December 20 by Gallup putting his approval rating at just 39%.

Gallup noted that this figure represents the lowest approval rating held by any modern president at the same point in their first term.

Unsurprisingly, Biden's lowest grades came from Republicans, among whom only 5% said they approved of how he has handled his time in office.

More ominous for the president is that his approval rating among independent voters only stands at 34%. What's more, Biden has also seen a sharp decline in approval among members of his own party, dropping from close to 100% in January of 2021 to 78% last month.