Dept of Valedictions: Bush and the Plutocrats ("There Goes the Neighborhood")

As Bush prepares to move into his exclusive new neighborhood his neighbors are worried that his presence might disrupt their Way of Life.  Those neighbors include "former presidential candidate Ross Perot and Mark Cuban, the billionaire businessman and Dallas Mavericks owner" and some guy next door who just installed a "trout-filled lake" on his property.  (Raw Story)

Will Bush turn their American dream into a Bush administration-style nightmare?

They're definitely worried about this.

One woman shared her fears as she walked past Bush's house carrying her King Charles cocker spaniel on Friday.

"I am afraid with all the negative press the president has been getting, the whole neighborhood is going to be a target," said the woman, who refused to give her name.

Traffic has already begun to clog the narrow streets around the home, causing neighbors to call the police -- who expect the hullabaloo to continue.

"When the Bushes are here full time, I imagine we'll be here full time," said Officer Michael Bratcher of the Dallas Police Department, who was directing traffic.(Raw Story)

But whatever the secret fears of Bush's neighbors-to-be, his new digs sound quite nice.

And not everyone is complaining.

For the most part, people in the neighborhood said they welcomed the return of the president, some very enthusiastically. George Nikolopoulos, owner of the Cobbler for 33 years, has lined his shoe-repair shop in the Preston-Royal shopping center with photos of himself with famous local residents, including Mr. Perot and country singer Charley Pride.

He's hoping to get one of himself with President Bush, whose shoes he fixed years ago, Mr. Nikolopoulos said. "I think it's great he's moving nearby." (WSJ)

In addition, it is pleasant to learn that his neighborhood has admitted differently-raced (nonwhite) people since 2001. (Pam's House Blend)  (Though let us be fair:  there has ALWAYS been a servant exception.)  At any rate, give the residents this:  they did take the trouble to rescind that covenant.  (KTVT-TV)  You'd be surprised how many such covenants are still included---though not enforced---in neighborhood restrictions.

On the other hand, it is a little funny.

As Scarce at Crooks and Liars says:

Of course, none of this implies that George Bush is a racist, or anything of that sort. Such restrictions are a throwback to the past, a sad reminder of an earlier era. But the irony of George Bush moving back to Texas to a formerly all-white area just as Barack Obama readies to move into the White House is quite rich indeed.

More at Memeorandum....