A new statue of Ronald Reagan was unveiled in the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday at a ceremony featuring bipartisan commemoration of the late 40th president. (You can read the full story here.)

Republican and Democrat leaders spoke well of Reagan and his wife, Nancy, who attended and shared a few words.

One of the qualities Reagan was commended for during the ceremony was his leadership in turning the dark 1970s into the prosperous 1980s, leading the country into strong economic growth. It is interesting to note that Reagan’s tax-cutting policies were quite the opposite of the current administration’s spending policies. Nevertheless, President Obama signed a commission the day before to establish an 11-member panel to plan events to honor Reagan’s 100th birthday on Feb. 6, 2011. Obama said:

“President Reagan helped as much as any president to restore a sense of optimism in our country, a spirit that transcended politics—that transcended even the most heated arguments of the day. It was this optimism that the American people sorely needed during a difficult period—a period of economic and global challenges that tested us in unprecedented ways.”