WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Why do you never seem to have a camera when you most desperately need one?

I'm standing nose to nose with Sen. Barack Obama on a recent Tuesday, close enough to maybe touch his face. But wouldn't you know it. I don't even have a cell phone with which to capture this historic event for future McKay generations.

OK. It's not the real Obama, seeing that I'm in the new Madame Tussauds wax museum in downtown Washington. But it's a Kodak moment nevertheless. The likeness of this intricately sculpted figure is so close to the real thing that I'm tempted to clap my hands in front of his face to see if he'll blink. Instead, I settle for running my fingers across his cheek.

Some might feel a wax museum is, you know, kind of tacky in a city that's devoted to the retelling of our nation's history. But consider this: Benjamin Franklin himself sat for Marie Tussaud in 1783 when he was the U.S. envoy in Paris. So in a way, precedence has been set. Along with the expected celebrities (Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Brangelina) the museum, which opened in October, provides face time with so many Washington figures, both current and former, that made this city what it is.

You get to see how incredibly tall George Washington was (6-foot-2). Both Richard Nixon and Winston Churchill, by comparison, are much shorter than you'd think, and Harry Truman more dapper. There's also the desk in the Oval Office and the podium used in White House news conferences. You'll see Abe Lincoln in his flag-draped box at Ford's Theater, Bob Woodward reporting on Watergate, and both George Bushes. Famous black Americans include Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Visitors also can rub elbows with Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Unlike John and Jackie Kennedy, who stand next to one another, Bill is a couple of galleries away -- read into it what you will.) Oddly, there's no John McCain, so we'll never know how she or Obama stack up to the Republicans.

It takes between three and six months to craft each figure out of 150 kilograms of clay (inserting the human hair takes 145 hours), so it's surprising they're not placed behind a barrier. But the goal here, according to marketing manager Shamika Lloyd, is to make visitors feel as if they're part of the attraction.

My only complaint with the museum is its exorbitant ticket prices: $25 for adults and $18 for children, or $86 for a family of four.

But if you've got the cash, it's a pretty fun way to kill an hour or two. Just remember to take your camera.

Madame Tussauds Washington D.C. is located at 1025 F Street, N.W. in downtown Washington, D.C. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets cost $25 for adults ages 13 to 59, $18 for children ages 4 to 12; and $23 for seniors 60 and older; prices are slightly less if purchased online. Call 1-202-942-7300 or visit www.madametussaudsdc.com.