America’s strange presidential museums

IN AUTOCRACIES, putting up mausoleums for ex-presidents is common. China, North Korea, Russia and Vietnam all encourage visitors to gawp at embalmed bodies and tour museums that glorify their dear, dead leaders. In most democracies that sort of thing is frowned on, making America’s passion for hagiographical presidential museums unusual. Every occupant of the White House since Herbert Hoover has put up a monument to himself. They are built with private cash, but their upkeep eventually falls to the federal government, which spends about $100m yearly on 13 sites. The 14th is coming. Last week federal permission was granted for the Obama Presidential Centre, a $500m complex on Chicago’s South Side. Work starts this summer. It should open in 2025.