Survey: Ronald Reagan would beat Obama in modern election

If presidential politics ever involved time travel, President Obama might be in a little trouble.

If an election between Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama were held today, 58% would vote for Reagan over Obama, according to a survey of 1,000 Americans age 18 and older conducted by Kelton Research for the National Geographic Channel. Though when the field is narrowed to people ages 18-34 -- those either too young to have known Reagan as president or too young to remember much -- the gap shrinks to 51% in favor of Reagan.

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However, the poll does have a margin of error of 3.1%, meaning Obama could still have an advantage among young people. No word on how he would fare against James Polk.

The survey was conducted by NatGeo to promote its upcoming miniseries “The ‘80s: The Decade That Made Us.” And, in what appears to be good news for the ratings of the series, Americans surveyed seem to have re-embraced the decade of big shoulder pads and breakdancing.

Though there was a fair amount of discontent and anger in the country during and after the ‘80s, time appears to have healed all wounds. The survey shows that 74% believe the country was better off during that time and 76% believe it was safer and that the government was run better.

But despite the lack of enthusiasm for the current state of our politics, not everything from the ‘80s is held in higher regard than the present. Even though the ‘80s gave us “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and the “Police Academy” saga, just 42% think movies were better back then.

Amazingly, even though we live in a supposed golden age of TV right now, over half (52%) believe TV was better when “Cheers” and “Hill Street Blues” were on the air.

But the big shocker comes in music, where 71% of respondents feel music was better in the 1980s. Great news for Jefferson Starship!

The love for ‘80s music can currently be reflected in the number of modern songs evoking the hooks of the ‘80s, including Flo Rida’s “Right Round” (sampling Dead or Alive’s “You Spin me Round (Like a Record)) and Pitbull and Christina Aguilera’s “Feel This Moment” (sampling A-ha’s “Take on Me”).

The six-part miniseries, narrated by ‘80s icon Rob Lowe, airs on National Geographic Channel beginning April 14.

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