Remembering history the way they wished it had been
No, Actually 
In retirement, as in his latter years in office, George W. Bush remains among our most dispised Presidents. Â And of our current living legends, Bush is number one, surpassing the hated Jimmy Carter in least liked-ness.
Presidential reputations are of course confections of whimsy and make believe, so hope lives, but the continued loathing of his big brother can only deepen the despair of Jeb “Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda” Bush.
Marked Down  
All the smart kids agree: Romney is the Republican John Kerry, the GOP’s cross to bare until their inevitable defeat in November. Â Versions have circulated since at least 2008.
What this line forgets is how close Kerry came in 2004, despite his charmlessness. Â Kerry got more total votes for president than any previous Democrat, eight million more than the equally charisma-challenged Al Gore. Bush won by hauling in every exurban mega-church goer Karl Rove could find, a dash of anti gay marriage referendums, plus some voter suppression secret sauce. Â Obama won in 2008 with his own epic turnout machine.
Republicans Determined To Strike In Us  
Who knows this far out, but where is it written that unlovable mopes can’t get ’em to the polls?
Dick Gets Off A Good One  
Nixon post-presidential kitten with a whip Monica Crowley  is cracking wise, favoring America with her lighter side.  Crowley normally spews forth  venomous chatter for the thoughtful conservatives of Fox News, but apparently views her Twitter feed as a fount of humor.
Crowley’s comic career began with Richard Nixon’s political death, as he used his New Jersey exile to emit an endless series of ponderous tomes.
Book Learning   
While decent people looked away, hoping Nixon would slink into the shadows from which he came, Crowley saw opportunity. She wormed her way into the great man’s shrunken entourage, assisting on several of his awful books. Some saw her comic potential early.
That, the involuntary kindness of strangers,  “striking” blond hair, and she was on her way.
Crowley’s latest cutups concern Rush Limbaugh muse Sandra Fluke. Â Fluke’s engagement has gotten some notice, and Crowley did not disappoint:
 White House Wannabe 
Proven comic resource Glenn Beck has returned to the headlines, through the unusual path of set decoration.
Becky has launched a new series of stirring web-cast addresses, taped in a make-beleave Oval Office.
He has a history of borrowed gravitas attempts in the past, including his MLK Makeover at the Lincoln Memorial, and a previous Oval-ation when he was still on cable.
Glenn’s fantasy White House is sort of a mash-up, with blue screens to add “punch” to his bold observations. When words fail to portray the hell-scape President Obama is leading us to, the pictures can take over. 
Beck’s pretend POTUS platform is a return to yesteryear in many ways, with the Bush era Churchill bust returned to its place of glory,  
 and the God-awful Bush Presidential Seal rug back in action.  Glenn apparently missed the Obama rug swap, with the attending “controversy.”
 Wouldn’t You Like To Know!   
Gawker historian in residence John Cook has fun poking the National Archives for their deference to former greats.
The George W. Bush administration’s papers are squirrelled away, and no, you can’t see them till Bush is done with them.  Bush left office having made a hash of his electronic records, resisting disclosure to the end despite estimates  millions of emails had gone missing.  In retirement only Bush and Ghost Who Walks Cheney have access to the goods until 2014, so Cook has been mischievously asking what our betters have been asking the National Archives for, FOIA-ing the records of their document requests.
The Archives will have none of that nonsense. Â They’ve denied his request for what are clearly public records, showing a tender concern for Bush’s privacy not demonstrated by the man himself.
Archives have had a pattern of hiding their dealings with past greats, refusing historian Anthony Clark‘s requests for records on the foundations all the Presidential Libraries run to keep their guy’s image ever shinier.
Deference to greatness reached it’s apogee under the last Archivist of the United States. Bush appointee Alan Weinstein remained mute over the Bush email destruction by deed or sloth, and reacted to Bush’s grabbing censorship rights for ex Presidents and their decendants by inventing the happy club of “presidential families” who he hoped and prayed would do right by history and release the stranglehold on facts Bush granted them.
And then retired. Â Good to see the current team is upholding the tradition of cringing deference.
