Thursday, January 22, 2009

Political Transitions

A new White House web site accompanied the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009. The site features a White House blog, and a section on Health Care and numerous other agenda topics. About the White House contains historical materials, including brief biographies of the presidents. President Harrison, for example, who early in his life briefly studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania under Dr. Benjamin Rush, holds the unfortunate distinction of being both the first president to die in office and the president with the shortest term.

In other presidential transition news, a Raleigh, North Carolina man netted $35,000 for the domain name, www.georgewbushlibrary.com. George Huger, according to a News & Observer article, purchased the expired domain two years ago anticipating a windfall. Yuma Solutions, The Bush Library Foundation's web developer, had apparently let the domain expire, and thus had to reacquire it at a premium.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum will be administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and will be located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Its archives will contain President and Mrs. Bush's presidential and gubernatorial records, the papers of cabinet members and key decision makers, as well as other artifacts and materials.

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