34 NEWSWEEK.COM FEBRUARY 28, 2020

seems, everything in the Dallas and Houston areas headquarters in Langley, Virginia, is now officially thanks for years of service to the country. For in-stance, you have New York’s JFK International Air-port, Reagan National in Wand parks all carry a Bush moniker. Even the CIA like a simple enough way to show respect and say is named after a Bush—aming buildings, schools and streets after former presidents seems airports, turnpikes, schools ashington D.C. and, it

Council, Chang offered up what he assumed would dubbed the George Bush Center for Intelligence.be a slam dunk: He wanted to rename a stretch of oceanfront on Oahu, a favorite body surfing area called Sandy Beach Park, for Barack Obama, the only U.S. president born in Hawaii. The beach, in fact, was a boyhood hangout of Obama’s. He even returned during an August 2008 respite from his first campaign Good luck with the easy part, says Stanley Chang.Six years ago, as a member of the Honolulu City

“historical and cultural sensitivity,” according to the they pulled their three-day-old proposal. In an in-future POTUS in action for an Obama-thirsty internet.terview with as hoped. Public reaction was swift and damning, with local residents assailing the plan as lacking for the Wstatement Chang and his co-sponsor released when different explanation, citing the beach’s tricky waves, The naming campaign, though, didn’t work out hite House, producing shirtless photos of the Newsweek last month, Chang offered a

Hawaii named after Obama—Chang are dismayed at the lack of organized traction which have caused major injuries in the past: “It’s a tourists who might not otherwise know about the beach would try it and, you know, break their necks.”very dangerous beach to go body surfing if you’re there’s not a school, street or even a park bench in in the naming game. After all, Obama was a popular inexperienced, so there was a lot of concern that Still, three years after the end of his presidency, and supporters like

named after him around the U.S., and his adopted nized—rating of 59 percent when he left office. Only Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton had a higher final poll. So it is McConnell’s opinions aside—two-term President—to catch on and often run into surprising resistance.puzzling that efforts to honor Obama have been slow It’s not that Obama has gone entirely unrecog-there are about 20 schools and 20 roads Senate Majority Leader Mitch with a Gallup approval

into a commemorative holiday. But in contrast with to persuade the city to take a vote on renaming Al-Reagan, there is no organized effort by progressives to canonize Obama’s legacy. In San Jose, California, for instance, former Obama campaign volunteer Alex Shoor has struggled for more than two years state of Illinois has turned his birthday, August 4, maden Boulevard for the 44th president who twice won the county with 70 percent of voters—though there’s an Almaden Avenue a few blocks even

fort,” Shoor says. “Waway, so it’s not as if anyone could object because the from politician to American icon by slapping his or gotten any help on this.”paign: little clout. “It’s a very smoriginal name would disappear from residents’ view.name everywhere began in earnest even before the One problemBy contrast, efforts to transform Ronald Reagan with the Obame haven’t heard from anyone all grassroots ef-a naming cam- $LUSRUWUHQDPHGIRUWKHZKFDPSDLZKRVXFFHVVIXOO\(IIR*URYHU1RUTXLVWULJKWIR^5 DIWHU%DUDFN2EDPDH'GXULQLE%LQKL:DVKLQUHQDPH+DZDLLŠV6DQG\IIWKSUHVLGHQWLQHDJDQ$PHULFDQVHDFK3DUNWRSOHIWULYLQU7GRRUUVADWVRWVJE[5ICJIKLVSUHVLGHQF\WHLUWKHQDPLQJIHJY BUILDINRQHGWRKDYHHWWRQ1DWLRQDOQYU5KOOIRʀDWVWDWHDFDWRUPKQDWROLGRHDGJQGHG

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