The Puff Daddy Of Our Country?

By Melissa August

The first president of the U.S. is no longer first in the hearts of his countrymen--especially the younger ones. A survey of historians and scholars cited him as our greatest President, but among average Americans, the first George W. was voted only the seventh most popular. (Lincoln was first.) Coverage of him in history textbooks has declined to less than 10% of what it was in the 1960s. The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, which owns his family home in Virginia, wants to restore Washington to his rightful place in our history and hearts, but for that to happen, the father of our country needs a makeover. The still popular tourist attraction (ahead of Graceland in numbers of yearly visitors but behind the White House) Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens is launching an $85 million expansion project in an effort to make his image more appealing to young people. When we think of Washington, the Ladies' Association wants us to think of a dashing figure who resembles Matthew McConaughey more closely than the stoic elder statesman in a Gilbert Stuart painting. Jim Rees, Mount Vernon's executive director, declares that Washington "at age 23 was already the action hero of his times." Using the skills of a forensic scientist, a plastic surgeon and a life mask of the President's face, Mount Vernon will create a more youthful and vital portrait and build a new orientation center, education center and museum to play up his action-hero side. Steven Spielberg is even making a new 15-min. bio film. Indiana George and the Battle of Trenton, maybe? --By Melissa August