The brouhaha over plans to build George W. Bush’s $200 million presidential library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas is getting nasty. Some faculty members opposed to Bush’s policies and the Iraq war fear the library and related think tank will hurt SMU’s reputation. Now, Methodist ministers across the nation are trying to stop the plan, arguing that the “linking of his presidency with a university bearing the Methodist name is utterly inappropriate.” But all this seems shortsighted. Any presidential library brings prestige and economic development to its host university and community. And one thing is certain about the Bush presidency: For better and worse, it will fascinate historians for all time.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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