The New Nixon Library

As Kevin Drum explains:

Well, just for the record, it turns out that last year the library was transferred into the federal system and a new director, Tim Naftali of the University of Virginia, was named director. The old private foundation still controls a couple of buildings, but basically it's now a nonpartisan institution under federal control. Naftali told me that they're busily updating the displays and that Nixon's presidential papers, kept in Washington until now, will be shipped to California as soon as a new archive building is constructed. It is, one might say, the New Nixon Library.

If you read, say, this you'll get a sense of where Tim's coming from politically.

Comments

Kind of like putting a hen in charge of the fox house.

Posted by afferent input | May 8, 2008 7:02 PM

I hadn't realized that the library had changed hands, but I still remember a professor telling us that the quality of presidential library is the inverse of that president's standing when he left office. Thus, the Nixon library has long been the most open, friendly, and non-ideological.

I do have to wonder if that pattern will hold for the current president.

Posted by david | May 8, 2008 7:24 PM

I'm deeply grateful that the corpses of certain former American Presidents (not to mention people like Jerry Fallwell) are interred beneath large slabs of granite or marble.

Otherwise, we might be treated to the sight of Dick Nixon, somewhat the worse for wear, showing up at McCain events ("hello; Dick Nixon; how-are-ya -- vote for McCain; hi-nice-to-see-ya; I understand if you don't wanna shake hands...").

Posted by Jemand von Niemand | May 8, 2008 8:10 PM

I'm just grateful the corpses of former presidents aren't mummified, Lenin-style, and displayed under glass at their respective shrines, umm, libraries.

Posted by CSI | May 9, 2008 2:33 AM

Well the Republicans among the former presidents, anyway, are too busy spinning over Bush the Lesser to do much rising from their graves . . .

Posted by rea | May 9, 2008 5:35 AM

What on earth is an 'alpha-male Justice Department'?

Posted by David Tomlini | May 9, 2008 12:42 PM