Remembering history the way they wished it had been
Who hems our pants?
Thanks to the youngsters at postfoetry we learn that the Library of Congress is dumping it’s Presidential action figures, at half price!
Who wouldn’t want a doll which belts out such priceless pearls as “I believe again that the American people are capable of self control and of learning by their mistakes?”[Teddy Roosevelt of course!]
America, your need for Oval Office Reproduction will not be denied!
Coming soon to Oyster Bay New York, Washington DC, Cambridge Massachusetts, or some berg they can persuade to front the cash, it’s another Presidential Museum!
“Newsday” previews the relentless action:
“It will be a museum where visitors can enter Theodore Roosevelt’s White House Oval Office and witness holographic advisers arguing his options during various crises before seeing how the 26th president handled them.”
Which will be all the more impressive since the Oval Office was only created after Roosevelt left office, under William Howard Taft.
Planners envision something on the order of 80,000 to 100,000 square feet. To give you some perspective, the yet to be built Bush Library is only slated to run 145,000 square feet.
Theodore Roosevelt Association President James Bruns tells “Newsday” that the nation cries out: “The museum sort of rights the wrong that there is no one place that really highlights Theodore Roosevelt’s contributions to the United States and the world.”
And for only fifty to one hundred million this grievous wrong can be corrected. The Association boasts that they are part way there, with twelve people pledging $10,000 each.
Only a few tens of millions to go!
Look for the Teddyists making a virtue of virtualness to their hoped for half million annual visitors, since they’ll have nothing. Harvard and the Library of Congress have his papers, and the museum may be reduced to
operating a high end “Build a Bear” outlet. 
“Boss” Tweed Roosevelt wants his great granddaddy’s museum in Anytown USA.
Grover Cleveland, our contemporary?
What didn’t he foretell! Presidential homes as tent pole for real estate speculation, child bride marrying, descendants reduced to reenactors?
Upstate New York citizens are slowly awakening to the tourist gold which lies at their feet, and yet another “presidential library” is the pan through which Buffalo’s ore will be sifted, or something.
As you are no doubt aware, Grover Cleveland served America not only as our only non-continuously termed chief executive [and as one bounced from office while receiving the majority vote], but as Buffalo Mayor and New York Governor.
Buffalo sees the tour buses rolling in. Not only will the Cleveland “Library” promote presidentus interruptus, but the town can cash in on the McKinley assassination at last!
And none too soon. The home where McKinley died after his crazed anarchist encounter [is there any other kind?] was sadly destroyed.
A rather pathetic stone in a road strip marks the shooting site where the Temple of Music stood.
Teddy Roosevelt has had the luck of having the Buffalo home where he took the oath preserved, so presidentists who also share a late Victorian furniture passion have somewhere to go.
