George W. Bush as the “Man in the Arena”: Baseball, Public Memory, and the Rhetorical Redemption of a President

Abstract

Abstract Presidential libraries and museums are important sites for understanding the rhetorical construction of presidential legacies in the United States. The newest of these institutions is the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas. The museum assists in the rhetorical redemption of a historically maligned presidency, anchoring President Bush’s legacy in the virtues of masculine, authoritative leadership. This is aided in particular by a noteworthy focus on baseball as a mythic expression of American exceptionalism, most dramatically featured in a 2015 temporary exhibit called Baseball: America’s Presidents, America’s Pastime. Far from being simply a colorful metaphor for national identity, baseball celebrates Bush’s moral authority and links him to the legacy of previous presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt. In short, the exhibit makes clear that one cannot understand the Bush presidency without baseball.