Survey : Historians rank Obama 12th best president .
Historians have ranked Barack Obama the 12th best president of all time , the highest rated since President Ronald Reagan , in a new C-SPAN survey released Friday . 
Historians , however , remained mixed on whether Obama 's standing so soon after leaving office was higher or lower than expected . 
Less than a month after exiting the White House , Obama received high marks from presidential historians for his pursuit of "equal justice for all" and for his commanding "moral authority ," ranking third and seventh among all former presidents in each respective category . 
Bush , like Obama , earned his highest mark for his pursuit of equal justice , but came in at only 19th . 
The former president 's tenure earned its lowest marks for the relationship between the presidency and Congress , with bitter partisanship often stagnating the effectiveness between the two and Obama seeing his Democratic majority slip in both the House of Representatives and the Senate during his eight years in office . 
Former President Bill Clinton , meanwhile , slightly behind Obama at 15th , receiving extremely high marks for his handling of the economy , which ranked third all-time , but a lowly 39th ranking for his moral authority , with scandals plaguing the latter end of his presidency . 
Barack Obama . 
"That Obama came in at number 12 his first time out is quite impressive ," Douglas Brinkley , a Rice University professor and C-SPAN adviser , said in a press release . 
"Although 12th is a respectable overall ranking , one would have thought that former President Obama 's favorable rating when he left office would have translated into a higher ranking in this presidential survey ," said Edna Greene Medford , a Howard University professor and member of C-SPAN 's historical advisory board . 
The final verdict on Obama 's legacy may still take time to truly assess , though , as historical views are admittedly likely to season as time passes . 
"Of course , historians prefer to view the past from a distance , and only time will reveal his legacy ," said Medford of Obama . 
The survey , the third of its kind and first since 2009 , when Obama succeeded President George W. Bush , also saw an uptick for the 43rd president .
Historians have ranked Barack Obama the 12th best president of all time , the highest rated since President Ronald Reagan , in a new C-SPAN survey released Friday . 
Historians , however , remained mixed on whether [TGT] 's standing so soon after leaving office was higher or lower than expected . 
Less than a month after exiting the White House , [TGT] received high marks from presidential historians for [TGT] pursuit of "equal justice for all" and for [TGT] commanding "moral authority ," ranking third and seventh among all former presidents in each respective category . 
Bush , like [TGT] , earned his highest mark for his pursuit of equal justice , but came in at only 19th . 
The former president 's tenure earned its lowest marks for the relationship between the presidency and Congress , with bitter partisanship often stagnating the effectiveness between the two and [TGT] seeing his Democratic majority slip in both the House of Representatives and the Senate during his eight years in office . 
Former President Bill Clinton , meanwhile , slightly behind [TGT] at 15th , receiving extremely high marks for his handling of the economy , which ranked third all-time , but a lowly 39th ranking for his moral authority , with scandals plaguing the latter end of his presidency . 
[TGT] . 
"That [TGT] came in at number 12 [TGT] first time out is quite impressive ," Douglas Brinkley , a Rice University professor and C-SPAN adviser , said in a press release . 
"Although 12th is a respectable overall ranking , one would have thought that [TGT] 's favorable rating when [TGT] left office would have translated into a higher ranking in this presidential survey ," said Edna Greene Medford , a Howard University professor and member of C-SPAN 's historical advisory board . 
The final verdict on [TGT] 's legacy may still take time to truly assess , though , as historical views are admittedly likely to season as time passes . 
"Of course , historians prefer to view the past from a distance , and only time will reveal [TGT] legacy ," said Medford of [TGT] . 
The survey , the third of its kind and first since 2009 , when [TGT] succeeded President George W. Bush , also saw an uptick for [TGT] .