Reagan's Role

Former first lady Nancy Reagan was in Washington today for the unveiling of a statue of her late husband in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.

The last time Mrs. Reagan was in the Capitol Rotunda was for the memorial for her husband five years ago this month.

Each state is permitted to contribute statues of two of its prominent citizens to the Statuary Hall collection. Sometimes a statue is replaced. Today, Reagan's statue replaced the statue of Thomas Starr King, a Unitarian minister who was an influential figure in California politics during the Civil War. The other Californian in Statuary Hall is Father Junípero Serra, who was beatified by Pope John Paul II a few months before Reagan left the White House.

I'm sure the timing was not coincidental, but Paul Krugman wrote in the New York Times a few days ago that, if you want to pinpoint the origin of the current financial crisis, the blame can be put at the feet of Ronald Reagan and the Garn–St. Germain Depository Institutions Act he signed into law in 1982.

"[T]he bill turned the modest–sized troubles of savings–and–loan institutions into an utter catastrophe," Krugman writes.

"Attacks on Reaganomics usually focus on rising inequality and fiscal irresponsibility," Krugman continues. "Indeed, Reagan ushered in an era in which a small minority grew vastly rich, while working families saw only meager gains. He also broke with longstanding rules of fiscal prudence."

When seen in that light, Dick Cheney's insistence several years ago that "Reagan proved deficits don't matter" would be laughably ludicrous — if millions of Americans weren't having to pay the price today.

Anyway ...

I was looking over the list of the statues in Statuary Hall today. I was curious, as someone who grew up in Arkansas, to know who represents my home state. I figure, at some point, a statue of Bill Clinton will be put up there. He had his shortcomings, but he left office with a budget surplus and he is the only Arkansan ever elected president. I'm sure he could replace either of the Arkansans currently in Statuary Hall with virtually no opposition.

The most likely prospect to give his spot to Clinton would be James Paul Clarke, a largely unsuccessful governor and a fairly modest senator. I studied Arkansas history as a part of my fifth–grade curriculum, and I remember very little about Clarke. To be honest, I'm not entirely certain why he was chosen to represent the state in Statuary Hall.

The other prospect is a statue of a fellow named Uriah Rose. I don't believe he ever held public office in Arkansas. He was a lawyer, and the law firm he joined in the 19th century bears his name — the Rose Law Firm. Its first female partner was Hillary Clinton.

Of course, lots of states have only one president — or two or three — and most of them aren't included in Statuary Hall.

You might think that former presidents occupy a large part of Statuary Hall, but that isn't the case. Some aren't there, presumably, because history judged them to be failures. But that isn't always the case, either.

Reagan is only the fifth ex–president whose statue has been placed there — and the presidents whose likenesses adorn Statuary Hall are not necessarily the ones you might expect. Abraham Lincoln, for example, is not there. Of course, he already has a monument in Washington.

But so does George Washington and his statue is one of the ones that represents Virginia. Thomas Jefferson, however, is not the other Virginian in the collection. That distinction belongs to Robert E. Lee.

Neither of the Roosevelts represent New York. John F. Kennedy doesn't represent Massachusetts. And Harry Truman doesn't represent Missouri.

The other three presidents in Statuary Hall are Dwight Eisenhower (representing the state in which he grew up, Kansas), James Garfield (representing Ohio) and Andrew Jackson (representing Tennessee).

Three former vice presidents (George Clinton, John C. Calhoun, Hannibal Hamlin) and several would–be presidents have statues in Statuary Hall, and the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, is one of those representing the state of Mississippi, but most came from other walks of life.

Considering that Statuary Hall is in the Old Hall of the House (the "People's" House), I guess that is appropriate.