Six score and 13 years ago, Gen. Irvin McDowell headed southwest out of Washington, believing that his Union army would overwhelm the outnumbered Confederate forces gathered near Manassas, Va. But by the time the two sides clashed at Bull Run, the Southern troops had been reinforced to nearly equal numbers, Gen. Thomas Jackson stood his ground like a stone wall and McDowell's inexperienced volunteers beat a hasty retreat.
Last year, Michael Eisner headed toward Manassas with equal confidence, leading his Disney forces to a 3,000-acre site just 4 miles from the battlefield to build their theme park, Disney's America. The head of the Walt Disney Co, later recalled that he had "expected to be taken around on people"s shoulders" for planning a $650 million, history-based attraction. Instead, Mickey Mouse was hanged in effigy during a march on the Capitol, historians testified in Congress and wrote editorials in protest, and zoning meetings I drew crowds. Last week, Eisner surrendered, as the company announced it would find another site in Virginia for Disney"s America, away from the battlefields. Asks John Cooke, the new chairman of Disney's America: "Why roll this stone up a hill and then end up with something that the people will always feel isn"t quite right?"
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