Remembering history the way they wished it had been
Gritty, Urban 
Laura Bush has unveiled an exciting new talking point for the Bush Library to come in Dallas:
“This will be the first truly urban location for a presidential library “
Meaning what exactly? George will be taking public transportation to work on his memoirs at the Library? And she is casually dissing the two existing Texas Presidential Libraries at Austin and College Station, one of which is her father-in-law’s.
Would A Cow Town Shine So Brightly? 
Richard Nixon’s Not-Quite-Presidential-Enough Library has long since surrendered to the National Archives. The Nixon’s standalone “we don’t really need his presidential papers” stance collapsed a year ago July when they finally entered the federal government’s warm embrace.
Now they need space for actual documents, you know, like a library! But fear not. As they have so many times, the feds are bailing Nixon out with cash for a new wing!
The Library’s complicated real estate, which a recent visitor says has the National Archives controlling part of the complex and the Nixon Foundation[the leftover of the bad old days] controlling the rest, can only get screwier.
Bookish 
Thomas Jefferson continues to get bad press over slavery and his domestic entanglements, but everybody loves a reader!
The Washington Post reports on efforts by the Library of Congress to recreate Jefferson’s library, purchased in the rebuilding of the institution after the British burned much of Washington DC. Much of Jefferson’s library itself burned in a later fire.
The L of C has managed to replicate most of the tomes, and is opening an exhibit to show them off.
Literary Round-Up 
The Library continues to operate the “Thomas” legislative facts and stats site, a tragic leftover from the AskJeevesish 
anthropomorphic era of cute web names.
The New Nixon blog is a last holdout for Nixon loyalists, the brave band who followed him into exile and the world of deferential memorializing.
Frank Gannon is of this band of brothers [Diane Sawyer and Monica Crowley having gone to glory elsewhere], and in the New Nixon Gannon displays once more the epic tone deafness of Nixon and his minions.
Gannon’s post on Politico‘s “50 Greatest Political Moments“starts off making minor harrumphs over Nixon resignation details [at the time of His choosing!], then closes quoting approvingly from Politico‘s tear-stained account of Nixon’s last conversation with his 1968 rival.
On Christmas Day 1977 Hubert”He Showed Us How To Die” Humphrey was literally dying. He called Nixon and they chatted about their pasts. Humphrey assumed Nixon would be spending the holiday with his daughters, but Nixon choked up, confessing that he and Pat were alone. 
The story tells us not much on Humphrey, but a great deal about Nixon’s pathalogical inability to feel any emotion but self-pity.
No Walk-ons! 
Steve Clemons provides a Richard Nixon footnote to the nation’s tearful remembrance of the gun-bearer’s Moses, Charlton Heston.
Clemons was handling some of the Nixon funeral logistics, and called Heston to inquire if the great man would visit the sacred ground in Yorba Linda.
“When I asked Mr. Heston if he would like to attend President Nixon’s funeral, his response was: “In what capacity?”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, so I repeated the question of whether he’d like to attend and whether he would need a limo/town car pass — and told him that I’d make arrangements for him in the family section.
He said, “I thank you for all that — but will I have a role?”
I said I couldn’t really arrange that. After all, we already had a program that featured Billy Graham, Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, Henry Kissinger, California Governor Pete Wilson, and others*.
And then he said, “No, I can’t attend. Thank you for the offer.”
”
My Way 
*Here Clemons carries on a Nixon Library tradition. Bill Clinton also spoke at the funeral, but a mid-90s Library photo exhibit on the service managed to exclude any image showing Clinton.
