Bush library 'a vital hub of critical thought and practical action’

The country’s 13th presidential library operated by the National Archives and Records Administration is expected to be completed in 2013, and it will be in Texas — home to more such libraries than any other state.

Plans for the George W. Bush Presidential Center, to be located on the Southern Methodist University campus, were unveiled in ceremonies last week. They reveal a three-story, understated but elegantly modern brick and limestone building that will reflect Texas from without and within.

Sitting on 23 acres and surrounded by "quintessentially Texas landscape" of bluebonnets, a wildflower meadow, tall-grass prairie and savannah and woodland, the center will house an archive as well as the Bush Institute, a privately funded public policy initiative.

Early criticism of the presidential center from some members of the SMU family and noncampus protesters centered around the institute, which many felt would simply be another conservative think tank designed to help rewrite the Bush legacy.

That is a bit disingenuous at best. Judging from the description of planned early programs and from the list of distinguished scholars and leaders who have been hired to help lead the institute, that wing of the center will be a tremendous asset to educational enrichment for the students and faculty of SMU and the larger public. It also will help provide worldwide initiatives benefitting diverse peoples, from those affected with HIV/AIDS in Africa to the education of women and girls in Afghanistan.

"The institute will be a vital hub of critical thought and practical action," Bush said last week. "It will be independent, nonpartisan and designed to make an impact in the world."

The right thing to do is to take him at his word.

Since the creation of presidential libraries, former chief executives of the U.S. have struggled with how best to tell the stories of their administrations, and specifically how best to deal with those issues that were controversial or considered to be failures. Most have been wise enough to let the historians and the records of their office speak for them.

Presidential libraries are designed to be great repositories documenting not only the actions of one man and those around him, but a specific time in American history and how the nation related to the rest of the world during that time.

While there are those who doubt the value of such major undertakings, these institutions provide valuable insight into the past, as well as ongoing programs that examine issues of the present and help us plan for the future.

The Bush Presidential Center is an incredible asset to SMU, North Texas and the country as a whole.

Its building, which clearly has the touch of former first lady Laura Bush’s hand, will be an instant landmark in the state, and its exhibits, scholarly research and political and social programming will be an inspiration for generations to come.

Regardless of one’s political persuasion, this is a dynamic project that every Texan and American ought to embrace.

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