    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [May 7, 2002]
    [Pages 728-731]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Dedication Ceremony To Rename the Dwight D. Eisenhower
    Executive Office Building
    May 7, 2002

        Thank you very much. Please be seated. Well, thank you all very
    much. And thank you, Susan, for those kind
    words, and welcome.
        On behalf of all Americans, I am proud to dedicate this historic
    building to the lasting memory of a great man, Dwight David Eisenhower.

    [[Page 729]]

        I want to thank Secretary Powell and
    Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz, Administrator
    Perry, General Hicks, for their kind words. I'm also pleased to have so many
    special guests who are here. I don't see--I do see Senator
    Stevens. I'm so honored that Senator Ted
    Stevens, who actually worked in the Eisenhower administration, is here.
    And I want to welcome all the others who worked in this--in the
    Eisenhower administration to this dedication ceremony. Welcome.
        I also want to welcome General Andrew Goodpaster, Senator Bob Dole, and all the other
    veterans of World War II. We're pleased to have you here. It's a
    pleasure to welcome back former Secretary of State Henry
    Kissinger. I want to thank Members of the
    United States Congress, Senator Inouye,
    Congressman Amo Houghton, Jerry Moran, Jim Ryun, Congressman Steve
    Horn.
        And I too want to say how much we appreciate the work of former
    Senator John Chafee, who introduced the legislation necessary to rename
    this bill--this building in honor of Dwight Eisenhower.
        And above all, we welcome the Eisenhower family and send our good
    wishes to John Eisenhower, who could not be
    with us today. As the son of a President, myself, I know how proud John
    must feel, knowing that our country's respect for his father has only
    increased with the years.
        The city of Washington is accustomed to change, but this
    neighborhood looks much as it did in 1929. If you'd walked down
    Pennsylvania Avenue 73 years ago, you would have seen the Renwick
    Building on the corner of 17th Street, looking just as it does now. A
    few doors down were the Blair and Lee Houses, with gas lamps still out
    front.
        In 1929, Lafayette Square was dominated by a great bronze horse, as
    it is today, proudly carrying Andrew Jackson. And standing outside this
    building on a spring morning 73 years ago, you might have seen Dwight
    Eisenhower pull up in a 1927 Buick and walk up the stairs to his office.
        The twenties and thirties were quiet times for our Army and Navy,
    quiet times when he worked here. But it was in this building that Dwight
    Eisenhower's reputation began to grow. His immediate supervisor said of
    him this--said this of him: ``This is the best officer in the Army. When
    the next war comes, he should go right to the top.'' These words carried
    a lot of weight; after all, the man who said them was Douglas MacArthur.
        He also worked here for many years in room 252. There was a time
    when a visitor to this building might pass in the hallway not only
    Eisenhower and MacArthur but the first man commissioned General of the
    Armies of the United States, John J. Pershing. General Pershing occupied
    room 274, a space now used by Vice President Dick Cheney.
        Two doors down is an office that Theodore Roosevelt would still
    recognize as his own from his time as Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
    So would Franklin Roosevelt, who, a generation later, occupied the same
    office and walked these very same halls. And in between, from 1904 to
    1908, William Howard Taft reported to work here as the Secretary of the
    War. In all, as has been mentioned, seven future Presidents have worked
    in this building; 25 Presidents have known it.
        Harry S. Truman held press conferences in an ornate room two stories
    high called the Indian Treaty Room--although no Indian treaty has ever
    been signed there. And it was Truman, himself, who paid a distinctive
    tribute to this building when a committee suggested it be torn down. He
    believed we ought to leave it right here. He said, ``It's the greatest
    monstrosity in America.''
        But it was Eisenhower who decided its fate. He said he rather liked
    it. And over time, a lot of us have come to like it. The architectural
    grace of this building will remain a matter of opinion, but its place in

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    history and its place on the skyline of Washington is as safe as can be.
        It seems odd that with all the history it contains, this great
    building went more than a century without a name befitting its dignity.
    We've solved that problem today, and we've solved it once and for all.
    This building now bears the name of Dwight D. Eisenhower, not because it
    was spared from the wrecking ball in his time, not even because he was
    the first President born in Texas. [Laughter] His name fits this
    building because, as a great soldier, a great President, and a good man,
    Dwight D. Eisenhower served his country with distinction.
        People over a certain age will always associate Dwight Eisenhower
    with a time of strength and a time of stability in America. We think of
    the fifties and in the mind's eye we see the President and his fine
    wife, Mamie. They had lived a military life, moving more than 30 times.
    And just as GIs in the fifties across America were settling back home,
    so were the Eisenhowers. As a matter of fact, they would live longer in
    the White House here than at any other address.
        We don't need to idolize the era they represented to see all the
    good things that were there: millions of growing families and industries
    and new cities and the beginnings of the life that we know today.
        Had he never become President, Eisenhower would still be known to
    all as the leader of the forces that liberated a continent from a
    terrible evil. The turning point of the war was the decision to invade
    the coast of France. The decision was made by Roosevelt and Churchill;
    the day and hour were left to General Eisenhower. And a lot of people
    felt a lot better knowing that it was his call to make.
        General Eisenhower understood exactly what risks lay ahead. Had his
    troops failed to take the beaches, he was going to point a finger
    straight at himself. Here's what he wrote, in advance: ``If any blame or
    fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.'' Fifty-seven years ago
    this very day, General Eisenhower reported that the mission of the
    Allied force was fulfilled, and the war in Europe was over.
        In victory, he was the first to share credit. It was not within his
    character to do otherwise. His Vice President, Richard Nixon, said this
    about General Eisenhower--President Eisenhower: ``He always retained a
    saving humility.'' ``It was the humility,'' Nixon said, ``not of fear
    but of confidence. He walked with the great of the world, and he knew
    that the great are human. His was the humility of man before God and
    before the truth. His was the humility of a man too proud to be
    arrogant.''
        In his career, Dwight Eisenhower faced two great crises of the 20th
    century: a world war that came upon America with a sudden attack,
    requiring a global response, and a cold war that tested our patience and
    resolve to wage a struggle of decades.
        In our time, we face elements of both, an enemy that strikes
    suddenly and must be pursued across the years. And in this struggle, we
    know how victory will be gained, because President Eisenhower--and
    General Eisenhower--showed us the way. We will be calm and confident and
    relentless. With the best of America's character, we will defeat
    America's enemies.
        We are proceeding with patience and resolve to overcome this growing
    danger to the civilized world. NATO, the grand alliance first commanded
    by General Eisenhower, is part of a new coalition that is making steady
    progress on every front. Our mission in Afghanistan continues even after
    we have liberated that country from a brutal regime. We continue to
    fight Al Qaida terrorists, and we will prevent them from regrouping
    elsewhere.
        We'll deny terrorists the safe havens they need to operate and choke
    off their sources of money and supplies. We'll confront dangerous
    regimes that seek weapons of mass destruction. In this war we will
    depend on the alertness of our law enforcement, the

    [[Page 731]]

    diligence of our intelligence operations, and on the skill and valor of
    the American Armed Forces.
        Our military has performed with great daring and courage, and more
    will be asked of them. I have full confidence, complete confidence, in
    the men and women who wear our uniform. They've responded in the finest
    traditions of the American military. Their sense of honor, their
    devotion to duty, their loyal service to America would all be recognized
    by the five-star general and President we remember today. The skill and
    determination and optimism of Dwight Eisenhower are alive in the
    American Armed Forces, and that spirit will bring us to victory.
        The General was one of six sons raised by Ida and David Eisenhower
    in the prairie town of Abilene, Kansas. They raised good men, but
    destiny chose this one. His whole life shows the power of one man's
    goodness and integrity to shape great events. He brought permanent honor
    to his family name, and that name now brings honor to this grand
    building. It's one more mark of this country's respect, and we offer it
    today with great affection and lasting gratitude.
        God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:20 a.m. in Room 450 of the Dwight D.
    Eisenhower Executive Office Building, formerly the Old Executive Office
    Building. In his remarks, he referred to Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter
    of Dwight D. Eisenhower; Chaplain Brig. Gen. David Hicks, USA, Deputy
    Chief of Army Chaplains; Brig. Gen. A.J. Goodpaster, USA (Ret.), Staff
    Secretary to President Eisenhower; and former Senator Bob Dole.