Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and of course George W. Bush himself are expected to be present at the groundbreaking ceremony for the former president's eponymous library today at Southern Methodist University.
According to the Dallas Morning News, about 2,500 people will be in attendance at the event. The former president will address the crowd.
The Morning News praised the Bush Library in an editorial, comparing his presidency to that of another controversial Texas president, Lyndon B. Johnson:
The library will add another intellectual dimension to North Texas. Documents shedding light on Bush's reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and his controversial wartime presidency will attract scholars dedicated to putting his eight years into historical perspective ...
The experience of the Lyndon B. Johnson library in Austin is a particularly apt comparison.
There was no more polarizing president in the latter half of the 20th century than LBJ, because of his escalation of the Vietnam War. Yet historians suggest that there was no more brilliant politician in his time. The fullness of the LBJ persona and era has been coming to life over the years through release of his tapes, diaries and other historic materials.
According to the SMU Daily Campus, the school is excited to host Bush's "storehouse of history."
Still, about two dozen protesters convened at SMU in objection to the library, saying that Bush should be arrested for war crimes.
The 225,000 square-foot library is expected to be completed in 2013 at a cost of $250 million.
What do you think? Will Bush's legacy change with time? Weigh in below.