Program from this morning’s dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
So many Presidents on one page AND “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Presidents—past and present—share a laugh before taking the stage at the dedication!
Are you watching the ceremony online? It’s live now!
Image via the #BushCenter pic.twitter.com/yGRdlGMQlv
Presidents Jimmy Carter, George Bush, William Clinton, and Gerald Ford at The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum dedication. November 6, 1997.
Politico highlights the political tidbits in my new book, Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge, including the story behind Pearl Jam’s April 9, 1994, White House visit. (Photo credit: William J. Clinton Presidential Library)
See another previously unpublished photo of PJ hobnobbing with President Clinton here.
(via heckyeahpresidents)
Source: grungebook
Happy Birthday Chelsea Clinton!
Photo: Governor Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton with Chelsea Victoria Clinton in the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion on the day they brought their daughter home from the hospital. 3/4/80.
-from the Clinton Library
George H.W. Bush visits the life-size sculpture of Franklin D. Roosevelt seated in a wheelchair at the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The FDR Memorial was first dedicated on May 2, 1997. Landscape architect Lawrence Halprin had designed the memorial with special attention to accessibility, however, the original design did not include a statue of FDR in a wheelchair. The 32nd President had used one after his legs were paralyzed from polio in 1921.
Advocates for the disabled protested that there should be an accurate depiction of FDR. A statue of FDR in a wheelchair would, they argued, increase awareness of disability history and of the accomplishments of people with disabilities.
President Clinton agreed, and sent legislation to Congress to modify the memorial with a sculpture of FDR in his wheelchair. The statue was unveiled in January 2001, and now greets visitors at the entrance to the FDR Memorial.
Photo: George H.W. Bush, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, advocates for the disabled Michael Deland and Alan Reich, and other dignitaries visit the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. 2/12/03.
Jan. 22, 1997: Madeleine Albright is Confirmed as the First Female Secretary of State
On this day in 1997, Madeleine Albright was confirmed as Secretary of State by the US Senate. Albright was sworn in the following day.
Serving under President Bill Clinton, she worked on issues revolving human rights, business, environmental standards, and focused on areas such as Kosovo, the Middle East and North Korea.
Read Frontline’s interview with Madeleine Albright to learn more about her time as Secretary of State.Photo: Madeleine Korbel Albright - U.S. Secretary of State, January 23, 1997 – January 20, 2001 (U.S. Department of State)
The West front of the U.S. Capitol for President William J. Clinton’s First Inauguration, 01/20/1993.
Source: research.archives.gov
Inauguration Fact: The inaugural ball tradition began with the first inauguration, held in New York.
It was unofficial, and President Washington attended alone—his wife had not yet arrived in New York.
Dolley Madison planned the first official ball, held for her husband President James Madison in Long’s Hotel in Washington, DC. Guests paid four dollars to attend.
During Woodrow Wilson’s Presidency, the inaugural balls were canceled to preserve the solemnity of the day. Franklin D. Roosevelt brought back the tradition with an official inauguration ball in 1933, but the war would make the following balls more subdued. In 1949, President Truman began the tradition of multiple balls so that more people could participate and see the President and First Lady.
Image: President William Jefferson Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton Dancing at the Tennessee Inaugural Ball in Washington, DC, 01/20/199, ARC 5950246, Clinton Presidential Library.
The Clinton family poses for a holiday portrait in the Blue Room of the White House. December 23, 1999.
-from the Clinton Library
