Some of the presidents of the United States have left office with low approval ratings and some supporters claimed that history will remember them kindly. How often do presidents end their terms with good or bad approval ratings but end up being remembered poorly or kindly respectively?
In other words has making the unpopular choices worked out for many of the presidents and the United States?
(I notice that this is a US centric question but it can really apply to any nation.)
Well, let me list the final approval ratings of all Presidents since Truman.
I suppose there are three Presidents who ended their terms with low approval ratings that are removed from office long enough for us to judge them. Truman's is generally considered to have been a very good President. Carter isn't. Nixon's legacy is overshadowed by Watergate and he is generally ranked poorly because of that. I think a lot of Presidential historians would argue that other than Watergate, he was pretty solid.