The state is poised to offer President Barack Obama a piece of Hawaii’s choicest oceanfront land in Kakaako for either his presidential library or, more likely, a think tank or conference center where he could hang out part time after he leaves office.
A recent Associated Press story said: "From a future office on the beachfront property, Obama could have panoramic views stretching from Diamond Head, Honolulu’s iconic volcanic crater, to the island’s lush, fog-tipped mountains."
Three words for that: Not. So. Fast.
A presidential library might be worth considering; it could be a substantial academic institution, visitor attraction and community resource.
But all signs point to the Obama library going to Chicago, the president’s adopted hometown and longtime political base.
This has our state leaders and University of Hawaii planners who have lobbied for the library pushing a Plan B that would involve offering Obama land for an institute that would serve as a secondary base of operations in his post-presidency.
"We really don’t see it as an either-or proposition," said U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, one of many top officials backing the initiative. "We see no reason that the president has to be forced to choose between his two hometowns."
One iteration of the idea even had a residential component, which would essentially turn one of our most valuable pieces of public real estate into a vacation retreat for the Obamas.
With or without the residence, this idea is wrong on several levels.
We don’t need another conference center in Hawaii, which has proved an inconvenient place for business meetings because of long travel distances and flak about junketing.
If Obama wishes to host meetings here, the painfully underused Hawai‘i Convention Center or East-West Center are available.
We don’t owe Obama a pricey post-presidential presence, especially considering the competing needs for public resources to address more pressing priorities.
Most of us are proud that a native son was elected president, and we’ve given him more political support than any other state.
But Obama hasn’t been seriously engaged with Hawaii since he left for college, returning only occasionally in the past 34 years to visit family and vacation privately.
He frankly told a local TV interviewer who tried to get some Hawaii pride out of him that Chicago is his home now, a reality we should observe.
Sometimes we in Hawaii are attention whores, willing to extend ourselves to ridiculous lengths to grab a little notice of dubious promotional value from the powerful and famous.
Why don’t we try letting others court our attention for a change?
If Obama wants a post-presidential institute in Hawaii involving public resources, let him submit a proposal outlining what he’ll bring to the table and what’s in it for us.
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Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.
