Obama Makes Up for Nancy Reagan Snub
The president, Nancy hold hands as he signs a bill to honor Ronald Reagan
By CAITLIN MILLAT
Updated 6:21 AM EST, Wed, Jun 3, 2009
President Barack Obama has signed one for the Gipper -- and could have gotten himself back into Nancy Reagan's good graces.
With the stroke of a pen Tuesday, Obama created the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission, which will honor the former president.
The 11-person panel will plan and carry out activities to mark the 100th anniversary, in 2011, of the late president's birth. That may include issuing a postage stamp, a commemorative $1 coin or convening a joint session of Congress.
Reagan was born on Feb. 6, 1911. He died in 2004.
The bill was signed with pomp and circumstance, broadcast on national television.
Ronald Reagan's widow, former first lady Nancy Reagan, looked on as Obama signed the bill into law at the White House.
Obama and Nancy Reagan held hands as he spoke before signing the bill, and she kissed him on the cheek during the ceremony.
Reagan said in an interview this week that Obama snubbed her when he failed to invite the long-time stem-cell advocate to a ceremony where he announced he would allow stem-cell research.
She said in the same Vanity Fair interview that she still sees the spirit of her late husband, who was afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut
First Published: Jun 2, 2009 3:19 PM EST
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