Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Will there be a wing for Cliff Notes At the George W Bush Library?

Does anyone else find it strange that former presidents are always honored with libraries after their terms are over? What do most presidents have to do with libraries anyway? Several presidents, most notably the current occupant of 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, don't seem to have read many books. he Bush library fund has already garnered $200 million; that's about $1million for every page he's read in his life.
Certainly even some of our better read presidents would more appropriately lend their names to things other than libraries; the Bill Clinton Hooters comes to mind. Shouldn't, after all, this honor say something meaningful about the president's personality? Wouldn't Gerald Ford rather have a golf course named after him, or Jimmy Carter a homeless shelter. Maybe Ronald Reagan could be memorialized with an Alzheimers Center, or perhaps an Alzheimers center (sorry, cheap joke.) The highest tribute, of course, would be to find something that was particularly indicative of that president's administration. They kind of got it right when they named the Kennedy space center after the president who was the most responsible for our taking the lead in the race to the moon. And the interstate highway system seems a fitting tribute to Ike. Unfortunately, given his economic record, the homeless shelter might still be most appropriate for Carter. I guess the question would be "What could possibly be the most fitting tribute to Dubyah?" Considering the enormous amount of money that will be raised, a library seems a waste of resources for a president who won't even read a newspaper.
But what will be the one thing about his administration that will most need memorializing. Nothing to do with education. His hideous "No Child Left Behind" program would preclude that.
And although it might be appropriate, naming a village of cardboard shelters for the poor after him would be unfair to Herbert Hoover, a man who worked hard for that honor.
So the question remains, "What would be the most appropriate tribute to George W. Bush?" Wait a minute. I've got it. How about a cemetery?

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