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Survey Says 

C-SPAN’s presidential historian survey holds many thrills: the inexorable rise of Bill Clinton, how far from bottom     George W. Bush has settled, but the historians themselves hold their own excitement.

Who are these guys?

The mysteries of “presidential historian” credentialing are many, and among this crew are some rather odd characters.

In his writings Joseph Persico confused Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, confused Teddy’s daughter’s name with his sister’s, and got the year Roosevelt was elected in his own right wrong.

Stanley Renshon is perhaps best known for utterly missing the point of Stephen Colbert’s legendary appearance at the White House Correspondents Dinner.   Colbert’s jolly mockery of the media’s deference to President Bush was the evening’s theme, but in Renshon’s view it was all terrible les majesty aimed at Bush.

“It is a testament to Mr. Colbert’s lack of perspective that he could even consider making such remarks. It is also a testament to the view, that he apparently shares, that when it comes to Mr. Bush, no level of crass rudeness is inappropriate…He owes the President and Mrs. Bush an apology.“

The utterly weird Paul Kengor tosses off articles with titles like “What Bush And Moses Have In Common,” and loses himself in reveries over Ronald Reagan’s life-guarding and the 77 lives he claims he saved:

“I believe it’s not an exaggeration to draw a straight line from Reagan at the Rock River to Reagan at the White House.“

Carl Sferrazza Anthony’s claim to fame is as Historian for the highly dubious National First Ladies Library, absorbing most of their salaries not paid to the wife of their former Congressional patron.