Well, well, well ... "A nationally known historian who promises to mix scholarship with showmanship has been named head of Illinois' $115 million Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum." (link here)

I'm drawing a blank recalling respected scholars who are also showmen, so there may be an opportunity for this genleman to break new ground. A little background from the same article:

A search committee's choice for director, historian Harold Holzer, withdrew from consideration amid confusion about how much authority the director would have. Smith also withdrew from the search at one point, saying he feared that former Gov. George Ryan, who praised his chief of staff as a possible director, was politicizing the position. [Current Illinois governor] Blagojevich said he was able to reassure Smith that the library would be insulated from politics.

A $115 million state instituion free of politics? Could any genuine Lincoln scholar believe such a thing could exist?

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