The Evolution and Relevance of Presidents Day

President Bush honored the birthday of George Washington today, comparing the first president's struggle for American liberty to the current war on global terrorism. Despite that effort to make this holiday seem relevant, everyone knows that what's now called "Presidents Day" is observed more by one-day sales with zero-percent financing than by reverence toward America's present or former heads of state. How did it get that way? Historian Matthew Dennis is author of Red, White and Blue Letter Days: An American Calendar.