Future historians of the
Barack Obama's second and last term doesn't end until Jan. 20, 2017. But university officials and civil leaders in two regions are already maneuvering for the honor of hosting Obama's official presidential library.
Now, according to news reports, two places have made the final cut: Chicago and Hawaii.
“Universities and community groups in both places are busy lobbying the president's people for the facility that the contestants see as an economic and cultural boon,”
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There are 13 official presidential libraries. Locally, the Ronald Reagan library is the most popular with tourists (it's got an Air Force One), though the Richard Nixon library in Yorba Linda definitely has its enchantments (it's next door to the clapboard home Nixon was born in). All the libraries are managed by the National Archives.
The Associated Press reports that officials at the University of Hawaii have visited most of these libraries, and that a statewide effort to bring the Obama library to Hawaii is being led by Robert Perkinson, an American studies professor at the university.
Hawaii state officials have set aside a $75-million plot of "oceanfront property on a rocky peninsula in the last undeveloped part of urban Honolulu" in hopes of securing the library, the AP reports.
But Politico reported in December that “the heavy favorite to host the library is the
All agree that the final decision will be Obama's. Once he chooses a location, a huge fundraising campaign will begin.
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