Obama’s Mausoleum

Creating a presidential library is not an historical norm; however, since the ignoble days of former Presidents Lyndon Baines Johnson and Richard M. Nixon, the creation and construction of presidential libraries has been routine. In each case, the libraries are designed to put this or that president’s spin on his place in history. My wife and I have taken to visiting a number of these libraries as we have traveled throughout the United States and in each instance we have come away with a sense of historical embellishment. Pretty much the same as if I were to produce my own portrait sans protruding midsection. It is both what is said and, more so, what is left unsaid. And yet, of those we have visited, they each seem to have captured this essence of the man.

But none will come close to the unwanted essence of the latest presidential library being constructed by former President Barack Obama. A February 16, 2025 FOXNews article noted:

“Construction of former President Barack Obama’s long-awaited library and museum in Chicago began with ambitious plans for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) but is now plagued by huge cost overruns, delays and a $40.75-million, racially charged lawsuit filed by a minority contractor.

“From the outset, the endeavor touted DEI as a key part of enshrining Obama’s legacy at the 19.3-acre site, where costs have ballooned from an initial $350 million to $830 million in 2021 based on its previous annual reports, with no publicly available figures available for updated projected costs.”

Over budget, late on performance and a cause for racial unrest. That pretty well sums up the Obama years. A $350 million project that is already at $830 million and still growing. Ever since Mr. Obama ascended majestically on the columns created for his “coronation” and declared:

“We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For*”

There was a Messianic/Imperial sense of superiority and overbearing condescension in Mr. Obama’s persona – one that was reflective of the idolatry permitted him by the mainstream media.

The mere cost of the Mr. Obama’s library dwarfs previous presidents**:

• Lyndon B. Johnson – $18 million (of which $15 million was paid from public funds by the University of Texas.

• Richard Nixon – $25 million of private donations

• Jimmy Carter – $26 million of private donations

• Ronald Reagan – $60 million of private donations

• George H.W. Bush – $43 million of private donations

• Bill Clinton – $165 million of private donations plus $11.5 Million in public funds from the City of Little Rock, Arkansas

• George W. Bush – $300 million of private donations

The current project cost of Mr. Obama’s salute to himself now exceeds the combined cost of all of the other presidents referenced above. And in fitting tribute, not one dime of that cost is borne by Mr. Obama. It’s not just the cost overruns, it is the shear magnitude of the project that pays tribute to such a mediocre chief executive. It’s not just unfathomable delays in the construction or the $41 million civil rights law suit that it generated by minority contractors for racial discrimination. Or the fact the Mr. Obama went from a do-nothing community agitator to a jobless retiree worth over $70 million – he joins Mr. and Mrs. Clinton who parlayed “broke” into a $200 million in net worth by selling political access. It is the fact that while Mr. Obama skates away rich beyond most people’s wildest dream, in addition to his $830 million mausoleum, he left the rest of us with the Gawd awful wreckage of the four years of President Joe Biden (or whoever was running the county) and the nomination of probably the least capable person to ever have been nominated for the presidency – Kalamata Harris. Mr. Obama helped engineer Mr. Biden’s nomination and election, his choice of Ms. Harris as a running mate, and the people who populated his administration. This was described as Obama 2.0 – the third term for Mr. Obama. And then he helped cover up the cognitive decline of Mr. Biden, the ouster of Mr. Biden in collaboration with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the selection of Ms. Harris as Mr. Biden’s replacement without a single vote being cast for her prior to the nomination. The messes caused by Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden will take decades to repair.

When history is written – I mean a history by the scholars and not by the bias mainstream media – Mr. Obama’s tenure will be described as misguided and his only achievement will be that of the first person of color to be elected President of the United States – a lasting embarrassment to all those who think that Mr. Obama represented the values of African Americans. But this America. We get what we deserve; particularly when we are not paying attention.

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*And while the mainstream media dutifully gushed those very words, I swear that I heard him say, “We (the royal ‘we’) are the one you have been waiting for.” As if he were the Messiah.

**Source: Wikipedia