When Reagan was shot on March 30, 1981, just three months into his presidency, Bush displayed (as the sign noted), "his usual calm, good sense in a crisis."

By the summer of '88, polls showed the Republican Bush-Quayle ticket anywhere from 10-20 points behind in the presidential race.

However, the "Bush-Quayle Team" won handily, garnering some 42 states.

If you recall, they had run against Dukakis-Bentsen.

There's probably an obvious joke in there somewhere, other than the Dukakis-Bentsen team itself, but hell if I can think of it right now.

Next up was "The History of the Berlin Wall."

A section of the wall, presented to Bush on Wednesday, April 21 1993, sits in the library.

The building of the wall, and the years it separated East and West Germany, was well documented.

However, the part of the wall exhibition titled 'The Fall' had a sign in front of it that read "Exhibit Under Construction".

The wall was up for some 28 years. Hopefully, the display on its fall won't take quite that long to construct.

Let's move on to Iraq and its evil dictator, shall we?

In the 'more things change, the more they stay the same' department, here's a quotable quote:

"By August 1990, Iraq had poured money into developing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Of these, Saddam was known to have used poison gas on his country's own Kurdish minority and against Iran. There was evidence of horrible biological weapons as well, but Iraq had not yet developed a nuclear device."

Just before the start of the Gulf War, in a personal letter to his children, Bush displayed his sensitive side... Just before bombing the hell out of Iraq, that is:

"I can't begin to tell you how great it was to have you here at Camp David (during the holidays).

I hope I didn't seem moody. I tried not to."

In explaining his march toward war, Bush referenced the Nazi regime of the late 30s/early 40s:

"How many lives might have been saved if appeasement had given way to force earlier? How many Jews might have been spared the gas chambers?"

Near the end of the letter, he stated, "So, dear kids - batten down the hatches."

Still sound advice today, as the current president has now geared up his fancy killing machines as part of "Emperor Dubya's Folly".

Near the end of the self-guided tour, one saw a display of gifts given to the president by other world leaders. As the sign noted, "The exchange of priceless and unusual gifts between leaders and countries in an age-old custom."

Other than porcelain and crystal, the popular gift item during those years seemed to be sharp objects.

Ceremonial swords from both the leaders of Republic of Djibouti and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; a Viking sword replica from the Ambassador of Ireland; and a dagger from the State of Bahrain.