To say we’re not surprised would be the understatement of the last 14 months.

SMU’s administration and the Bush Library Committee finally made the announcement last week that – shocker – Dubya’s presidential library and museum will rest its boots here on the Hilltop.

The first thing we all said after the official word was made was “Duh!” The second thing we said was, “What took you so long?”

Ed Board (and probably the rest of the denizens of SMU) felt like it was waiting for a delayed flight at an airport in the islands. Couldn’t someone have let us know how much longer the wait was going to be?! We didn’t get any status updates on what our future plans would look like. Although we did have some hints (anyone notice all that land leveled out on SMU Boulevard and Central?), everyone was kept in the dark on the decision. We all might have been more at ease if someone had just announced over the loudspeaker that our pilot was drunk and they were looking for a new one rather than leave us angrily waiting in the terminal.

The editorial staff of The Daily Campus has recently received a share of what-were-you-thinking letters and the late night talk show hosts have made some jokes at SMU and the president’s expense. But, hey, at least it gets people talking… Right? Well, maybe.

The last 14 months have divided SMU into two camps: those for and those against bringing the library to SMU. Many fear that the legacy of the country’s 43rd president will be synonymous with the university, and the others are championing this possibility.

All that we can hope for is that the museum will be a purely historical site that will attract people to the city of Dallas and to our campus. We don’t deny that this is a lofty (and probably unlikely) ambition for the library and for the university, but it’s the least we can hope and ask for.