Dallas Delights  
 Vanity Fair explores the fascinating life of recent retiree George W. Bush. His road to Calgary, the grim details of his dog-walking.
Best part?
We travel once more to foggy Central Europe, where a callow young president met grizzled veteran Vaclav Havel, passions swelled, and a vision of the Bush Presidential Center took form.
“He loves Vaclav Havel,†says former White House press secretary Dana Perino. “He told him, ‘When we’re up and running, I’d like to have you come write a book there.“
The reality principal is introduced by former bushlibraryblog [on hiatus since 2007, and still ahead of Bush’s library blog!] empresario Benjamin Johnson.
“Vaclav Havel is not going to come to the fucking Bush center!†scoffs Benjamin Johnson.“
Mission Critical  
The fate of the Republican Party lies in the hand of a novice museum head, but John Heubusch does not lack confidence. “I’m about to rescue the cause of Reaganism from the jaws of Obamaism,” he vows to the tattered on-line remains of US News & World Report.
Heubusch is the dynamic new honcho of the Reagan Library Foundation. He’s the caretaker of what he calls the “most important Republican brand.”
His sacred cause? “We want to take the principles that Reagan searched for and make them relevant today.”
There’s a new sheriff in town, or the old one is back, Reagan lives…something.
“Ronald Reagan is walking back into town. We want to be the ones who answer the question: What would Reagan do?”
Better Luck Next Time!   
“2008 was something of an awkward year for the GOP and conservatives in general.”
From that stirring preamble, Mark Joseph thrills Fox Forum readers with a vision of a more Reagan-ey tomorrow.
Apparently, a child shall lead them, someone so steeped in Reagan lore and legend that they instinctively channel Him, unlike today’s poor imitations.
It’s gonna be great!
 Meet Mohamed Nasheed, New Look President of the sun-kissed Republic of the Maldives.  He’s the Sarah Palin of the Indian Ocean, getting big play talking about selling his evil bad guy predecessor’s yacht on EBay.
Eventually we learned she hadn’t sold her predecessor’s jet on EBay at all, but for a loss elsewhere. And he’s been elected since October with no action.
Nasheed defeated a not nice person, Maumoon Gayoom, who indeed ran a repressive kleptocracy of which the boat and a presidential island retreat were symbols. But live by the symbol, die by the symbol.
Plain spoken Mr. Nasheed has gotten a lot of mileage as well from refusing the tacky gold-inflicted presidential palace Gayoom built.
 
But Nasheed has instead moved into the former Sultan’s palace, no slum.
If the Maldives ever gets around to selling the boat they may find the economic tide against them. When Iraq finally got title to a Saddam yacht which surfaced in Europe they hauled it back to Basra for lack of a buyer.
Destiny In Trunks          
Harvard is restoring the swank apartment occupied by Franklin Roosevelt during his undistinguished Harvard years, as a tribute to our last beloved depression fighter. The university has his sink and pull toilet, but everything else will have to be guesswork guided by FDR’s letters home and contemporary material. In the spirit of the Roosevelt Era, a fabulous dinner will be served in hopes the downtrodden benefit eventually, by example, or something.
What role if any his Harvard years played in Roosevelt’s political evolution is unclear, but at some point he developed enough self-awareness that he could laugh at his own class, and “welcome their hatred.” Â The university seems to want to grab what it can of our exciting new era of the common man.
FDR, Fellow Scribes
