    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [July 9, 2002]
    [Pages 1199-1201]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1199]]

    Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom
    July 9, 2002

        The President. Please be seated. Thank you all very much. Good
    afternoon, and welcome to the White House. Laura and I are honored to
    welcome our recipients and family members and friends to the people's
    house.
        As we honor today's Presidential Medal of Freedom winners, I want to
    acknowledge the presence of our great Secretary of State, Colin
    Powell, and his wife, Alma. Secretary Powell has won the Presidential Medal of
    Freedom twice--once with distinction. I'm not sure what happened the
    other time. [Laughter]
        The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civil honor our
    Nation can bestow, and we award it today to 12 outstanding individuals.
    The men and women we honor span the spectrum of achievement. Some are
    fighters; others are healers; all have left an enduring legacy of hope
    and courage and achievement.
        Hank Aaron overcame poverty and racism to
    become one of the most accomplished baseball players of all time. ``When
    I was in a ballpark,'' he said, ``I felt like I was surrounded by
    angels, and I had God's hand on my shoulder.'' By steadily pursuing his
    calling in the face of unreasoning hatred, Hank Aaron has proven himself
    a great human being, as well as a great athlete.
        Bill Cosby is a gifted comedian who has used
    the power of laughter to heal wounds and to build bridges. ``I don't
    think you can bring the races together by joking about the differences
    between them,'' he said. ``I'd rather talk about the similarities, about
    what's universal in their experiences.'' By focusing on our common
    humanity, Bill Cosby is helping to create a truly united America.
        Placido Domingo has performed in more
    roles than any other tenor in the history of opera. His boundless
    admiration for the composers of the great operatic music makes him push
    himself to the limit. ``They spend years creating operas,'' Placido has
    said, ``lots of suffering and lots of sweating.'' Well, by suffering and
    sweating himself, Placido Domingo is making sure that the great music of
    the past will continue to delight opera lovers the world over.
        The week after September the 11th, Peter Drucker sent a letter to his friends and associates urging them
    not to abandon daily life and civil society. ``That's exactly what the
    terrorist wants,'' he said. Peter Drucker has devoted his life to
    strengthening civil society. His determination to help our nonprofit and
    faith-based institutions carry out their desperately needed missions
    more effectively has made him one of the greatest management experts of
    our time.
        Katharine Graham was a forceful, courageous, and deeply principled
    newspaper publisher. She described herself as someone who suffered from
    a sense of inferiority but who was forced to become a leader after her
    husband's death. ``What I essentially did,'' she wrote, ``was to put one
    foot in front of the other, shut my eyes, and step off the edge.'' Under
    her brilliant guidance, the Washington Post has become one of America's
    most powerful newspapers. Katharine Graham will always be remembered for
    her determined pursuit of journalistic excellence.
        D.A. Henderson is a great
    general in mankind's war against disease. From 1966 to 1977 he led the
    World Health Organization's global smallpox eradication campaign. Today,
    he is helping protect America from the threat of bioterrorism. ``We need
    to plan, not panic,'' says this master medical planner. Our Nation is
    fortunate to be able to draw on D.A. Henderson's great store of wisdom
    and experience as we work to

    [[Page 1200]]

    lift the dark threat of terrorism from the Nation and our world.
        Irving Kristol is a wide-ranging thinker
    whose writings have helped transform America's political landscape. As
    young men, he and his fellow student radicals in City College's ``alcove
    number one,'' devoted themselves to solving the ultimate problems of the
    human race. Today, Irving Kristol is still grappling with ultimate
    problems, and in thinking them through, he has vastly enlarged the
    conservative vision.
        Shortly after he arrived on South Africa's Robben Island to begin
    serving his prison sentence for resisting apartheid, Nelson
    Mandela refused an order to jog from the
    harbor to the prison gate. When a prison warden threatened to kill him,
    here's what he said: ``If you so much as lay a hand on me, I will take
    you to the highest court in the land, and when I finish with you, you'll
    be as poor as a church mouse.'' [Laughter] The warden backed off and so,
    eventually, did other, more powerful representatives of apartheid--all
    of whom were humbled by Mandela's immense moral authority. It is this
    moral stature that has made Nelson Mandela perhaps the most revered
    statesman of our time.
        Gordon Moore is a great businessman and
    innovator. His interest in science was sparked by a chemistry set when
    he was a boy. ``With the chemistry set,'' he recalls, ``I had to get a
    good explosion at the end, or I wasn't happy.'' [Laughter] In the worlds
    of business, science, and philanthropy, Gordon Moore has been setting
    off explosives ever since. And the ripple effects of his explosive
    genius have helped create our age of information.
        Nancy Reagan has devoted herself to her
    family and her country. As first lady of California, she spoke out
    eloquently on behalf of POWs and American servicemen missing in action.
    As First Lady of the United States, she has led an antidrug campaign--
    she led an antidrug campaign that helped reduce teenage drug abuse.
    Today we honor Nancy Reagan for her eloquent example of loyalty and
    courage and abiding love.
        Fred Rogers has proven that television can
    soothe the soul and nurture the spirit and teach the very young. ``The
    whole idea,'' says the beloved host of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, ``is to
    look at the television camera and present as much love as you possibly
    could to a person who needs it.'' This message of unconditional love has
    won Fred Rogers a very special place in the heart of a lot of moms and
    dads all across America.
        A.M. Rosenthal's calling is journalism;
    his passion is human rights. ``When I come out for human rights,'' he
    says, ``I'm not talking in the abstract. I know that if I lived in a
    dictatorship, I would be in jail very quickly.'' A.M. Rosenthal's
    outspoken defense of persecuted Christians in Asia, Africa, and the
    Middle East have truly made him his brothers' keeper.
        Each of these men and women has enriched the life of America and the
    world. And we're honored to have them with us here today.
        And now the military aide will call each of the winners forward and
    read their citations.

    [At this point, Maj. James M. McAllister, USA, Army Aide to the President, read the citations, and
    the President presented the medals.]

        The President. Again, I want to thank you all for coming to honor
    such remarkable men and women. The Presidential Medal of Freedom,
    established by President Kennedy in 1963, recognizes individuals who
    have made ``an especially meritorious contribution to the security or
    national interests of the United States, or to world peace, or to
    cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.'' I'm sure
    you'll agree that today's Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
    richly deserve their honor.
        And now, Laura and I would like to invite you all to join us for a
    reception in

    [[Page 1201]]

    honor of today's distinguished Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients,
    in the room back here in the back.
        May God bless our recipients, and may God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:05 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House.