New Ronald Reagan statue at U.S. Capitol

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New Reagan statue at Capitol

Former first lady Nancy Reagan and House Minority Leader John Boehner, right, unveil a statue of the late former President Ronald Reagan in the Capitol Rotunda Wednesday. The Reagan statue will become part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, which is comprised of statues donated by individual states to honor men and women notable in each state's history.

Sen. John McCain and others admire the art work. The statue cast Reagan flashing his legendary ah-shucks grin, the expression that transformed his face whenever he was ready to deliver the punchline of a joke.

A blue cloth cover was pulled from the seven-foot statue of the 40th president Wednesday as Mrs. Reagan, 87, and a crowd packed with Reagan era-policymakers, looked on in the Capitol's Rotunda.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spends a moment Wednesday with a fellow Californian.

Chairman of the RNC Michael Steele was on hand.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan sits with President Reagan's secretary of state, James A. Baker, III in the Rotunda of the Capitol Wednesday.

Sam Williams, with the Capitol labor division, dusts the statue of President George Washington.

With the stroke of a pen Tuesday, Obama created the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission, an 11-person panel that will plan and carry out activities to mark the 100th anniversary, in 2011, of the president's birth. Nancy Reagan watched the signing.

Obama invoked the 40th president's trademark optimism, calling him a leader who understood that the bonds that unite Americans are stronger than the disagreements that divide them, the political parties included. He also said Reagan's sunny outlook was sorely needed during a difficult time of economic and global challenges. "That was powerful. That was important. And we are better off for the extraordinary leadership that he showed," Obama said.

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Former first lady Nancy Reagan and House Minority Leader John Boehner, right, unveil a statue of the late former President Ronald Reagan in the Capitol Rotunda Wednesday. The Reagan statue will become part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, which is comprised of statues donated by individual states to honor men and women notable in each state's history.

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