George H.W. Bush: “Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, distinguished leaders of both the House and the Senate, I'm just delighted to be here…”

“Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, distinguished leaders of both the House and the Senate, I'm just delighted to be here, and I want to especially thank Wendell Ford and Ted Stevens, who do such a wonderful job protecting and enhancing the history of this fantastic building in so many ways. It brings back to me so many happy memories of time spent on both ends of the Capitol--4 years in the House and 8 as the presiding officer, the President of the Senate. So, I'm delighted to be here today. I can't quite get used to all this. I'm not even dead yet, and here--[laughter]--here is this magnificent sculpture by an old and dear friend of the Bushes, Walker Hancock. I believe I first met him when I was about 3 years old. He's been a special friend of our family. He, of course, is one of the most prominent sculptors--most prominent in the whole country. I was proud to give him the National Medal of the Arts last year. I can tell you that he put a lot of time into this bust, having gone to Italy himself to see that it was finished properly, doing all the design and work himself. We've sat for him--he was most understanding, came up to Camp David. We did some work in the White House. Having this magnificent work, given what he had to work with-- [laughter]--done by this outstanding American artist, makes it doubly, doubly special for us. I just couldn't be more pleased. And of course, I'm touched by the Members of the House and the Senate that have turned out for this.…”