WASHINGTON — A recent survey of political and history professors at George Washington University discussed whether Barack Obama should be included on Mount Rushmore, even if not in the near future.
The survey was conducted the The College Fix, and polled 10 professors at the university. Two said yes, but urged caution as to the timing.
“Historical judgments take time to form and Obama is still in office,” history professor Edward Berkowitz stated. “It could be that he will be one of the great presidents, worthy of having his likeness carved on a mountain, but certainly not yet.”
“I recall how unseemly it was when Republicans started a premature campaign to cement President Reagan’s legacy by naming everything they could find after him,” added political science professor Robert Stoker.
As previously reported, during Obama’s inauguration in January, some supporters held signs that depicted Obama’s bust on the side of Mount Rushmore next to Martin Luther King and other African American leaders.
It also appears that a campaign to include Obama on Mount Rushmore beside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln has been underway for quite some time. A Facebook page entitled “Campaign to Put President Obama on Mount Rushmore” was created in March of 2010.
“With the numerous accomplishments that President Obama has achieved in under 15 months in office, including the healthcare bill, we the people feel the president should be honored and recognized by his bust being placed on Mt. Rushmore,” the page outlined upon its inception.
However, the page is smathered with comments from dissenters who disagree with the idea of adding Obama to the historic monument.
“You have to be kidding,” one visitor writes.
Earlier this year, on his MSNBC television program Politics Nation, Al Sharpton made the case for why he thinks Obama might stand a chance to be included.
“How did Teddy Roosevelt get up there? What did he do to affect the future of the country?” Sharpton asked. “[Obama] stopped two wars and the whole question of finance reform on Wall Street and health care. I mean, he has done some concrete things.”
“[T]he reason I raised Teddy Roosevelt is that a lot of people could say that Teddy Roosevelt was more of a character than a transformative president. I can name, literally, things that President Obama has done,” Sharpton continued. “Now, I’m going to say that if Teddy Roosevelt is the measure, I think it strengthens the case for President Obama.”
The College Fix notes that Obama has already been honored at a number of locations across Ameria, as a number of streets have been named after the president, and elementary schools across the nation have changed their name to “Barack Obama Elementary School.”
A simple Google search proves true that Ludlum Elementary School in Hempstead, New York now is known as Barack Obama Elementary School, and that two relatively new schools in Pine Lawn, Missouri and Upper Marlboro, Maryland both bear his namesake. The Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy for grades 6-10 operates in Dallas, Texas, and the Barack and Michelle Obama Service Learning Elementary is open for students in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Other locations include Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Oakland, California.
“History undoubtedly will accord President Obama a special place by virtue of being the first African American President,” Professor Paul Wahlbeck of George Washington University stated, noting that it may not necessarily be on Mount Rushmore.
However, some believe that efforts to venerate Obama have already gone too far.
“This is getting more creepy every day. He’s being worshiped like a god,” one concerned citizen said. “I really don’t like where this is going. Reminds me far to much of North Korea and Kim Jong Il.”
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