Hawaii’s best selling point for Obama library? Waves

If tradition holds, sometime next month Air Force One will glide into Hickam Air Force Base carrying President Barack Obama and family home for the holidays.

Michelle Obama has joked that Christmas in Hawaii was one of the items that sealed the deal for that Chicago girl to marry Obama.

For us here, the thought remains: Why just Christmas? Why shouldn’t Obama have his own place in Hawaii — a library, a center and a meeting place?

A presidential library in Honolulu is no more unlikely than a skinny black kid from Hawaii becoming president — so, come on, we have a chance.

Earlier this year, there were conflicting reports about whether Honolulu or Chicago would land the whole prize.

At a Hawaii Tourism Authority meeting, one authority member, Lorrie Stone, according to a Pacific Business News report, said the decision had already been made for Chicago. Others today are saying still no decision, but it does appear that something is jelling.

There is some question about who gets what, where, because last week the University of Illinois at Chicago announced that it had up to five sites available for a presidential library and museum. So if a decision has been made, the folks at the University of Illinois at Chicago don’t appear to know about it.

Also in the running are Chicago State University and the University of Chicago, where Obama taught.

The president has not commented on either the search or his preferences.

Back here in Hawaii, Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui is on the local team. He also says no decision has been made, but he hinted that perhaps the decision will be a split.

"While President Obama has made clear that he has not made any decisions about the placement of his presidential center, it’s possible that the president will choose to establish a base of operations in two cities. President Clinton has done so; his foundation is headquartered in New York and his library is in Little Rock. Therefore, we may end up collaborating with Chicago," said Tsutsui.

The LG sees how we would fit into the mix with Chicago.

"The vision for the presidential center is very broad, consisting of the presidential museum and library, as well as a presidential foundation, a university think tank or policy school, and educational programming. We believe that Hawaii can play a significant role in seeing this vision come to fruition," said Tsutsui.

Robert Perkinson, University of Hawaii professor and director of the UH presidential initiative, says Hawaii could be an important place for Obama to work and focus on his future activities.

Left unsaid is the likelihood that Chicago would house a library and perhaps a center that would document his historic presidency.

"We have to think that Obama would be attracted to a center that would be making change around the world and not just be celebrating the accomplishments of his presidency," Perkinson said.

Such a Hawaii center, perhaps located in the Kakaako Makai area near to the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center, would support education, international relations and security and other extensions of Obama’s presidency, Perkinson said.

The clincher could be that the Kakaako spot is only steps away from Point Panic, a fine place for the nation’s only bodysurfing president to get wet.

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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.