YES! Most emphatically. According to at least 14 polls conducted since 1982 among U.S. historians and political scientists, John F. Kennedy has consistently ranked in either the 1st quartile or 2nd quartile of American presidents, below near great but decidedly above average. The most recent survey, in 2010 by the Siena Research Institute, ranks him at 11th among the nation's 44 chief executives to date. Kennedy ranks just below Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, and just above Presidents James Polk and Andrew Jackson (Bill Clinton, interestingly enough, is ranked 13th). Factors that have contributed to his above average ranking have included his ability to communicate and inspire; his appointment of talented and able people to positions of importance in government; his success