Is it true that former presidents become more popular the longer they're out of office?

[TimberValley]

2. Yes, for a few reasons

With bad presidents, people tend to forget how bad they were, just because so much time has elapsed. Before long, you have a generation of people who never even lived under that president's administration.


Also, with bad news always in the forefront in the news, people tend to criticize the current President in the here and now. Past presidents are remembered more positively, simply because as time goes by, our perception clouds as well. We think, "Such-and-such a president would have done better than our current President."