Dallas, Texas

Former President George W. Bush is in the political wilderness no more. Not only is the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum being dedicated today—with President Barack Obama and ex-Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton in attendance. But Bush’s rehabilitation from years of unpopularity is beginning to take hold.

The 23-acre Bush facility, privately built at a cost of $250 million, sits on the campus of Southern Methodist University, 15 acres of which consists of Texas prairie planted with native trees, bushes, and grasses.  The museum represents Bush’s take on his presidency, bad moments included, and houses such artifacts as Saddam Hussein’s gun when he was captured and a 17-foot beam from the Twin Towers bent by the impact of the plane that hit it on September 11, 2001.