[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
[July 17, 1995]
[Pages 1099-1101]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Unveiling Ceremony for the Official Portraits of 
President George Bush and Barbara Bush
July 17, 1995

    Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Breeden, for your kind remarks 
and for your essential work on behalf of the White House and the history 
of this country.
    We're delighted to be here with President and Mrs. Bush today and 
Vice President and Mrs. Quayle, all the Members and former Members of 
Congress, the members of the Bush administration, and the friends of 
George and Barbara Bush and especially the family members. We welcome 
you all here to the White House.
    It's impossible to live in this wonderful old place without becoming 
incredibly attached to it, to the history of our country and to what 
each and every one of these rooms represent. In a way, I think every 
family who has ever lived here has become more and more a part of our 
country's history, just for the privilege of sleeping under this roof at 
night. And so perhaps the most important thing I can say to President 
and Mrs. Bush today is, welcome home. We're glad to have you back.
    I want to say, too, that we thought that we ought to have this 
ceremony in the East Room. This has always been the people's room. In 
the 19th century, it used to get so crowded at receptions that one of 
the windows over here was turned into a door so people could get out if 
they couldn't bear the crowds anymore. There are so many here today, 
perhaps we should have done it again. But we thought the air-
conditioning made it advisable for us to all stay put.
    Many of you know that it was in this room that Abigail Adams used to 
dry the family laundry when the room was nothing more than a brick 
shell. You may not know that the great explorer Meriwether Lewis set up 
camp here, surrounded by canvas tarps, books, and hunting rifles in the 
day when he was Thomas Jefferson's secretary. John Quincy Adams 
frequently would come here to watch the Sunrise after he finished his 
early morning swim in the Potomac. That also is something we're 
considering taking up if the heat wave doesn't break.
    The portraits that we add here today celebrate another chapter to 
our rich history and particularly to the rich history of the East Room 
where they will remain for a few days before they are properly hung. I 
managed to get a glimpse of these portraits, and I must admit that I 
think the artist did a wonderful job, and we're all in his debt. But I 
also want to say, President Bush, if I look half as good as you do when 
I leave office, I'll be a happy man. [Laughter]
    I want to again compliment Herbert Abrams, the artist. He also 
painted the portrait of President Carter. So once again, President Bush 
has set another outstanding example of bipartisanship.
    These portraits, as has already been said, will be seen by millions 
of Americans who visit here, reminding them of what these two great 
Ameri-


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cans stood for and for what they have done to strengthen our country. 
The portraits in the White House are more than likenesses. They tell the 
story of the promise of one American life and, in so doing, the promise 
of all American life. They offer a lesson, an example, a challenge for 
every American to live up to the responsibilities of citizenship.
    As Americans look for ways to come together to deal with the 
challenges we face today, they can do well in looking at the lives of 
President and Mrs. Bush. They have been guided by the basic American 
values and virtues of honesty, compassion, civility, responsibility, and 
optimism. They have passed these values on to their family and on to our 
American family as well. And for that we should all be profoundly 
grateful.
    Mrs. Bush's portrait will hang adjacent to the Vermeil Room on the 
ground floor corridor, taking her place in history in the line of 
America's First Ladies. One role of the First Lady is to open the doors 
to the White House. Mrs. Bush will be in the hearts of Americans forever 
for the gracious way in which she opened so many doors, not just to this 
house but to a world of endless possibility through reading. Her 
campaign for literacy exemplified our country's great spirit of 
voluntarism and our primary concern for the potential of every 
individual American. Her life of helping others has brought recognition 
to all those Americans, especially to American women, who have seen 
unmet needs in their communities and reached out to meet them. We cannot 
thank her enough.
    President Bush's portrait will hang out here in the Grand Foyer, 
across from the portrait of President Franklin Roosevelt, the Commander 
in Chief he served in World War II. It will stand as a reminder of 
George Bush's basic integrity and decency and of his entire adult 
lifetime devoted to public service. Most of all, it will stand as a 
testimony to a leader who helped Americans move forward toward common 
ground on many fronts. We see this clearly in the causes George Bush led 
us in as President, causes that aimed at improving the lives not just of 
Republicans but of all Americans.
    He made education a national priority when he hosted the education 
summit in 1989, something I will never forget and always be especially 
personally grateful for, because he understood that a solid education is 
essential to every American's ability to meet the challenges of the 21st 
century.
    He led us to a new dedication to service and extolled the real 
heroes in America, the ordinary Americans who every day go about solving 
the problems of this country in courageous, brave, and quiet manners. 
The Points of Light initiative held up the best in America, reminded us 
of what we can do when we truly work together. And I can say that it was 
the one thing he did that he personally asked me to continue when I took 
this office, and I was honored to do it because it was so important. And 
it remains important to the United States today.
    He signed the Americans with Disabilities Act, something that has 
now acquired broad support among people of all parties and all walks of 
life and which has made a real difference to the quality of life of 
Americans who are now making larger contributions to the rest of us. And 
he supported and signed the Clean Air Act, which is terribly important 
today in preserving the quality of American life.
    He also led our Nation and the world in the Gulf War alliance, in an 
example of contributions and cooperations in the aftermath of the cold 
war that I believe will long be followed.
    Finally, since he has left this office, he has continued to be an 
active and aggressive citizen for what he believed in. He worked here to 
help us to pass NAFTA, something for which I am profoundly grateful. And 
just the other day, he earned the gratitude of all Americans who believe 
in law and order and believe in civil citizenship when he defended the 
honor and reputation of law-abiding law enforcement officers and 
Government employees. For all these things, all Americans should be 
grateful to George Bush.
    For President and Mrs. Bush, love of country and service to it have 
always meant the same thing. We honor them both today for their 
leadership, their character, and their concern for their fellow 
citizens.
    On November 2, 1800, the day after his very first night in the White 
House, John Adams wrote to his wife, ``I pray Heaven to bestow the best 
of blessings on this house and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. 
May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.'' In the 
case of George Bush, John Adams' prayers were surely met.

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    It is my great honor and pleasure now to unveil the official 
portraits of President and Mrs. Bush.

Note: The President spoke at 10:19 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Robert L. Breeden, chairman of the 
board, White House Historical Association.