The Bush Library

[Brown]

On the day after Election Day, I visited the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. I found it to be a surprisingly emotional experience.

Here were exhibits about Kennedy's mastery of the new medium of television; of his remarkable speeches (including handwritten notes concerning how to pronounce "Ich bin ein Berliner"); of the Peace Corps, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Space Program, and so on.

Kennedy was in office for less than three years. Yet he had some stellar accomplishments and a remarkable legacy as President.

And now there is talk about a library and museum to be devoted to little Bush.

Little Bush will have been in office for eight years. But what has he accomplished?

I suggest that he will not have a single accomplishment that he can point to in his library, unless his people decide (as some say they already have) to engage in historical revisionism.

There may be an exhibit devoted to September 11, 2001, but it is unlikely there will be any exhibit devoted to the warnings that the Bush folks received and ignored. It is almost certain that there will not be a video showing the President sitting in a chair for seven minutes, looking like he peed his pants, after hearing that "America is under attack."

There may be an exhibit devoted to Iraq, but it is doubtful that any of the following will be touted as accomplishments: the tales told to the UN, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Halliburton, Curveball, Blackwater, the rise of insurgency, General Shinsecki, the Valerie Plame Affair, and Bush's excrement-headed remarks. There may be a monument to the "Mission Accomplished" spectacle, without any explanation of what mission had actually been accomplished.

Will there be an exhibit devoted to Hurricane Katrina and little Bush's pathetic response? Or an exhibit devoted to the disgraceful way in which he attained office? Will he trumpet his stomping upon stem cell research or his intervention in the Terri Schaivo matter? Will there be an exhibit devoted to his financial irresponsibility, or the absurd nomination of Harriet Miers, or the criminal escapades of his cronies? Will there be an exhibit that suggests that Dick Cheney was, by any reasonable standard, a good Vice President?

Will we see exhibits devoted to cronyism and incompetence? To Bush's preference to speak to fawning crowds rather than to people who might ask hard questions?

Certainly there will be nothing to indicate that Bush acted to prevent (or even slow the course of) environmental damage. There will be not a word about curtailment of liberties. And there will not be a shred of information indicating that Bush's policies were in any way responsible for the economic troubles we currently face.

 

[Tricky]

I suspect it will focus on the speech he made after 9-11.

 

[Dragoonster]

Here were exhibits about Kennedy's mastery of the new medium of television; of his remarkable speeches (including handwritten notes concerning how to pronounce "Ich bin ein Berliner"); of the Peace Corps, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Space Program, and so on.

Kennedy was in office for less than three years. Yet he had some stellar accomplishments and a remarkable legacy as President.

Was there an exhibit on the Bay of Pigs? His escalation in Vietnam? His philandering? Slow acting on Civil Rights? Interventionism in Iraq?

I think JFK is grossly overrated as far as accomplishments, and not just due to his short term.

That said, he was a lot better than Bush, and I agree with your points about him and what his library will likely include and disclude.

 

[PhantomWolf]

Perhaps they can put a copy of "My Pet Goat" in it.

 

[eeyore1954]

At least if it costs anywhere near as much to build as the Clinton Library it will provide jobs and stimulate the economy.

 

[Brown]

Was there an exhibit on the Bay of Pigs? His escalation in Vietnam? His philandering? Slow acting on Civil Rights? Interventionism in Iraq?

I think JFK is grossly overrated as far as accomplishments, and not just due to his short term.

Actually, the JFK library museum makes some mention of some of the lower points in his presidency... but these points are naturally downplayed in favor of the accomplishments. (I saw no reference of any kind to JFK's infidelity.)

Some presidential libraries mention the low points as well as the high points. The Hoover library in Iowa, the Truman library in Missouri, the Ford library in Michigan, the Clinton library in Arkansas all make mention of some of the less favorable events in the respective presidents' careers. The Clinton library, notably, devotes considerable space to the impeachment, and the Ford library does not avoid the Nixon pardon.

What is striking is that the little Bush library is unlikely to showcase ANY accomplishments that have benefitted the country as a whole or the world in general. I cannot think of ANY memorable Bush speech except for the ones in which he said something stupid (and there were a LOT of those). Even the September 11-related pronouncements are forgettable at best. The "Bush Doctrine" (whether defined as the right of preemptive attack in the face of supposed threat, or as the notion that "If you're not with us, you're with the terrorists," or as the idea that torture is justifiable in the face of terrorism) is unlikely to be a matter of enduring pride to be enshrined in an exhibit.

The question is whether there is any accomplishment--after EIGHT YEARS in office--that can be put into a museum honoring little Bush without blatant historical revisionism. I cannot think of a single one.

 

[TragicMonkey]

"How did you like the Bush Library?"
"I've never seen so many pop-up books in one place!"

 

[WildCat]

There may be an exhibit devoted to September 11, 2001, but it is unlikely there will be any exhibit devoted to the warnings that the Bush folks received and ignored.

Oh, why don't you start a thread in the 9/11 Conspiracies section about it? Maybe you'll be the first person ever to find a warning that was actually specific enough to do anything with!

Not what I've come to expect of you Brown.

 

[WildCat]

Bush was never stupid enough to ride in an open car through the downtown of a major city.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[Safe-Keeper]

Bush was never stupid enough to ride in an open car through the downtown of a major city.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Kennedy didn't have an earlier president to learn from. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[ImaginalDisc]

Kennedy didn't have an earlier president to learn from. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

I'd have thought the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand might have taught people about the foolishness of that practice.

 

[fishbob]

"How did you like the Bush Library?"

"I give it a '3' for too much outside the lines and excessive use of red."

 

[Upchurch]

Little Bush will have been in office for eight years. But what has he accomplished?

He modified Daylight Savings Time.

Heck of a job, Bushie.

 

[Policenaut]

A few things: Massive aid boost to Africa, negotiations with Libya, removal of a tyrant, free elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, stopping several credible terrorist attacks from occurring on US soil. There are probably other things I'm forgetting. If you open your hate filled eyes you might see that Bush isn't the devil and did some positive things that he should be remembered for. And I am no fan of Bush. I'm just not an ideologue.

 

[CptColumbo]

Perhaps they can put a copy of "My Pet Goat" in it.

With the plaque saying "The only book he's ever read and he still doesn't know how it ends."

 

[WildCat]

Kennedy didn't have an earlier president to learn from. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Lincoln? McKinley?

 

[Dragoonster]

Actually, the JFK library museum makes some mention of some of the lower points in his presidency... but these points are naturally downplayed in favor of the accomplishments. (I saw no reference of any kind to JFK's infidelity.)

Some presidential libraries mention the low points as well as the high points. The Hoover library in Iowa, the Truman library in Missouri, the Ford library in Michigan, the Clinton library in Arkansas all make mention of some of the less favorable events in the respective presidents' careers. The Clinton library, notably, devotes considerable space to the impeachment, and the Ford library does not avoid the Nixon pardon.

Thanks for the info. I've never been to a Presidential library or other such venue so didn't know. Do the libraries tend to be publicly or privately owned?

The question is whether there is any accomplishment--after EIGHT YEARS in office--that can be put into a museum honoring little Bush without blatant historical revisionism. I cannot think of a single one.

After the invasion I tried to keep an ear out for such things, good actions, in order to keep at least a hint of objectivity considering I detest the man.

I came up with increasing AIDs relief to Africa (though there are problems with requirements for clinics who want them). Oh, also the Road Map to peace for the Israel-Palestine conflict started off well and was a real effort. It ended poorly through fault of all involved including Bush, but I do give him credit for that and it could be featured in the Library (well, as much as similar efforts by past Presidents that ultimately failed). Others have been mentioned--response to 9/11, invasion of Afghanistan, Libya negotiations were all good acts. Well, at least in complete isolation they were, and though the first two were sort of "gimmees" for any President to take.

The only domestic positive action I can recall is increasing student loans, I think both in income threshhold to get them, and in absolute amount.

 

[Kthulhut Fhtagn]

I suspect the Bush Library will be the first library to include the complete filmography of Chuck Norris on DVD.

Lincoln? McKinley?

They were shot while riding in in an open vehicle while driving through a major city? Wow, that must have made that presentation of Our American Cousin particularly interesting.

 

[Brown]

Oh, why don't you start a thread in the 9/11 Conspiracies section about it? Maybe you'll be the first person ever to find a warning that was actually specific enough to do anything with!

Not what I've come to expect of you Brown.

The boo-hoo-hooing is not what I expect from you, Cat. Perhaps you'd like to do your homework about the warning signs that were present. In response to these warnings, little Bush did this: Nothing.

Now, there are those who throw up their hands and say, "Well, there was no way to know, there was no way to stop what was about to happen." And from this, they conclude by some bizarre illogic that little Bush was quite right to ignore all of the warning signs, and to do nothing, not even to try.

They consider little Bush's inaction justifiable. Most reasonable people, however, consider it a gross dereliction of duty.

In the Gerald Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, are (possibly copies) of the resignation letters of Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon. In the Kennedy Library in Boston is the (apparently original) note scribbed by Bobby Kennedy to this brother during the Cuban Missile Crisis, in which he said he knew how Tojo must have felt when planning Pearl Harbor. In the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, are the (apparently original) documents pertaining to the deployment of the atomic bomb.

Do you suppose little Bush will have in his library a copy of the Presidential Daily Briefing of 6 August 2001? You know, the document that Bush deliberately tried to cover up? The one that said that bin Laden was determined to strike in the U.S.? The one that little Bush ignored, and when the intelligence briefing officer thought the President was not giving the issue due attention, prompted this response from little Bush: "Okay, you've covered your ass now."

 

[Brown]

After the invasion I tried to keep an ear out for such things, good actions, in order to keep at least a hint of objectivity considering I detest the man.

I came up with increasing AIDs relief to Africa (though there are problems with requirements for clinics who want them). Oh, also the Road Map to peace for the Israel-Palestine conflict started off well and was a real effort. It ended poorly through fault of all involved including Bush, but I do give him credit for that and it could be featured in the Library (well, as much as similar efforts by past Presidents that ultimately failed). Others have been mentioned--response to 9/11, invasion of Afghanistan, Libya negotiations were all good acts. Well, at least in complete isolation they were, and though the first two were sort of "gimmees" for any President to take.

The only domestic positive action I can recall is increasing student loans, I think both in income threshhold to get them, and in absolute amount.

Your points are well-taken that little Bush may have some efforts that may turn out well. The Africa initiatives have been mentioned, and so has the Korean initiative depite its awkwardness. One might question the scope of these actions as well as whether they will stand the test of time, but perhaps they will.

Viewed from a high angle, Bush's response to 9-11 was, by most standards, a flop (if not outright malfeasance); but it is a fair bet that there will be a picture of him in his museum standing with a bullhorn near the ruins in southern Manhattan.