Remembering history the way they wished it had been
Vicente Fox’s “I’m not your father’s ex-Mexican President” campaign has suffered new blows as a statue of the former Coca Cola cowboy was torn down in Veracruz hours after it was installed.
The book tour, the memorializing, the looming Presidential Library opening, all fly in the face of the fact that his National Action Party has always been a minority taste, his own Presidential victory not withstanding.
SO LONG, SUCKERS!
It’s Party Congress time in China, so time to look at President Hu Jintao and the roots of his raising. Return with us once more to Taizhou!
Al Jazeera found not a lot, although so far the town has avoided building a museumized version of his house.
Less so with Deng Xiaoping 
and Mao Zedong.
It all ended well at the Party Congress:
“ Hu Jintao mentions “democracy” more than 60 times in landmark report“
The Washington Post has a look at presidential history making in the making in Russia, where Vladimar Putin’s camp followers have taken to analogising the post-Soviet strongman with Franklin Roosevelt.
“FDR, according to a consistent story line here, tamed power-hungry tycoons to save his country from the Great Depression. He restored his people’s spirits while leading the United States for 12 years and spearheaded the struggle against “outside enemies,” as the mass-circulation tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda put it.
Translation: Putin rescued an enfeebled Russia from the chaos of the 1990s, banished or imprisoned dangerous billionaires [unclear if he “welcomes their hatred.”]and regained respect for his newly enriched country on the world stage.
And Roosevelt ran for a third and fourth term because his country needed him. Translation: Putin, too, should stay. ”
If Putin is Roosevelt does that make Bush Stalin? 
Let’s look at the stats:
Underestimated by colleagues?
Penchant for secrecy?
Likes to dress up in uniform? 
Backwards in Britain
The Churchill family cashing in threatens to set the United Kingdom on the path to more presidentialism: cults of personality, motorcades, and our gift to the world, the presidential library.
History News Network reports they aren’t there yet, but are plugging away.
Britain has a functioning National Archives, but that can’t stop the empire builders. The Churchill papers were bought back from the family with public money, and rest at the Cambridge college named for him. Margaret Thatcher is tagging along there, but appears to be thin on actual material.
Her archive head says “What we have here …are the private letters to Baroness Thatcher from members of Parliament, copies of official letters that she was allowed to take with her and much more.â€
The Thatcher web site illustrates the redundant nature of the enterprise:
“MT’s own collection includes copies of most of the White House material relating to her meetings with successive Presidents. Gaps in her collection have been filled, in some cases, from the Carter and Reagan Library photographic collections. Bush material will be placed on line with documentary material in early 2006.”
A search in multimedia for “Reagan” gets you nothing but White House photos. There are some bugs to work out on the site itself. Even the link to the Churchill archives is a bust.
The Churchill site is more fun, including Churchill’s memorandum calling for poison gassing Bolshevik troops during the British intervention in Russia’s Civil War.
The wisdom of Mr. President regarding Vicente Fox’s “Daily Show” interview shared with Jon Stewarts’ many viewers, or at least that subset who scribble away on the show’s message boards.
Some of whom labor under the delusion that Fox is part of Aztlan on the march. 
