    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [July 23, 2003]
    [Pages 910-913]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom
    July 23, 2003

        The President. Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House.
    Laura and I are really glad you all are here.
    We're especially pleased to welcome the distinguished guests we honor
    today and their proud families and friends.
        I appreciate former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright for joining us today. Madam Secretary, thank you
    for coming.
        I'm honored that Kay Bailey Hutchison from the great State of Texas is here with us today. I
    appreciate the ambassadors who have joined us. I appreciate former
    Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients and their families who are
    here: Zbigniew Brzezinski is
    with us today; Liz Moynihan is
    the widow of Senator Moynihan; and Irving Kristol. I thank you all for coming.
        The Presidential Medal of Freedom is America's highest civil award.
    It is conferred upon men and women of high achievement in the arts and
    entertainment, public service, science, education, athletics, business,
    and other fields. For most recipients, this award is a special
    distinction added to many prior honors.
        Some recipients are no longer with us but are still highly regarded
    and fondly remembered. All who receive the Presidential

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    Medal of Freedom have the continued respect of their peers and the
    lasting admiration of the American people.
        Julia Child already holds the highest
    distinction of the French Government. She was awarded the Legion of
    Honor for sharing with millions of Americans the appreciation and
    artistry of French cooking.
        Before Julia Child came along, no one
    imagined it could be so interesting to watch a meal being prepared.
    [Laughter] The reason, of course, is Julia herself, her friendly way,
    her engaging conversation, and her eagerness to teach. American cuisine
    and American culture have been enriched for decades by the unmistakable
    voice and the presence of Julia Child.
        Americans are not always in the mood for exquisite meals. Sometimes
    all we want is a hamburger at the drive-up window. [Laughter] And a lot
    of those windows are at places named for the daughter of Dave Thomas.
    The late founder of Wendy's left school without a diploma to begin
    working at a very young age.
        His great success as a restauranteur allowed Dave to fulfill other
    ambitions in his life. He became a benefactor of good causes, especially
    the cause of adoption. Dave himself was orphaned at an early age, and
    many young men and women today can thank Dave Thomas for helping to join
    them with loving parents.
        At the height of his career, Dave Thomas went back to school and
    earned a GED. His classmates voted him ``most likely to succeed.''
    [Laughter] And today his country honors the hard work behind his success
    and the great generosity Dave Thomas showed others.
        Van Cliburn was last here
    in 2001 as one of the Kennedy Center honorees. His life of honor started
    early, as the 23-year-old winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition in
    Moscow. In the years since, he has even further refined the gifts of a
    prodigy with the discipline and consistency of a true master. He has
    lived up to the high standards of the music teacher who first inspired
    him, his mother, Rildia Bee Cliburn. Today, throughout America and
    across the world, musicians find inspiration in his example, and all of
    us associate the name Van Cliburn with grace and the perfect touch at
    the piano.
        Like Van, the scholar Jacques Barzun now
    lives in Texas. He began his life 95 years ago in France. He became an
    American citizen in 1933 and joined the faculty at Columbia University
    and gained a reputation as a thinker of great discernment and integrity.
    From his first book, published 71 years ago, to his latest, a bestseller
    published in 2000, Jacques Barzun has influenced generations of serious
    readers. Few academics of the last century have equaled his output and
    his influence, and today he has the profound gratitude of his adopted
    country.
        Charlton Heston is known for his
    portrayals of the most compelling dramatic figures: Moses, Judah Ben-
    Hur, Michelangelo, General Andrew Jackson, and Captain George Taylor. In
    the process, Charlton Heston himself has become one of the great names
    in film history. Over more than half a century, his talent and intensity
    have proven big enough to fill any role.
        The largeness of character that comes across the screen has also
    been seen throughout his life, during Charlton Heston's service in World War II, his leadership of a labor
    union, his activism on behalf of civil rights, and his principled
    defense of the Bill of Rights. Charlton Heston has left his mark on our
    country as an artist, as a citizen, and as a patriot, and we're honored
    he is with us today.
        We're also honored as well by the presence of an artist whose life
    brought two experiences he never could have expected, that of a prisoner
    and that of a President. In the days of Communist rule over
    Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel ridiculed the
    pretensions of an oppressive government and was viewed as an enemy of
    the state. The most subversive act of this playwright was telling the
    truth about tyranny, and

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    when the truth finally triumphed in a ``kindhearted revolution,'' the
    people elected this dignified, charming, humble, determined man to lead
    their country. Unintimidated by threats, unchanged by political power,
    this good man has suffered much in the cause of liberty, and he has
    become one of liberty's great heroes.
        When liberty was threatened by nazism, a young Hungarian scientist
    named Edward Teller left Europe and found his way to the United States.
    Within a decade, the German Reich was at war with America and in search
    of the most terrible weapons. Dr. Teller
    joined the Manhattan Project and applied his disciplined mind to the
    most urgent task America had ever faced, to develop the atom bomb before
    Hitler.
        Dr. Teller contributed to the success of
    that mission and helped us to meet other great national security
    challenges during the cold war. In recent decades, he has turned his
    efforts to the great scientific and moral task of building a defense
    against ballistic missiles. For a long life of brilliant achievement and
    patriotic service, America is in debt to Dr. Edward Teller.
        Professor James Q. Wilson may be the
    most influential political scientist in America since the White House
    was home to Professor Woodrow Wilson. Throughout his career, he has
    demonstrated the best virtues of the academic profession. His theories
    and ideas are drawn from actual human experience and therefore have
    great practical value in addressing social problems. He writes with
    authority on a range of subjects, from the workings of government to the
    causes and prevention of crime. Whatever his subject, James Q. Wilson
    writes with intellectual rigor, with moral clarity, to the appreciation
    of a wide and growing audience. And it is my honor to congratulate
    Professor James Q. Wilson.
        Of the 108 Americans who have served on the Supreme Court of the
    United States, only one is also in the College Football Hall of Fame.
    Justice Byron White was a rare kind of person who seemed to excel at
    everything he attempted. Whether playing football or earning a Bronze
    Star in World War II or enforcing civil rights as Deputy Attorney
    General, Byron White was tough, and he was determined.
        When he was nominated, his close friend at the Supreme Court,
    President John F. Kennedy, called Byron White a man of ``character,
    experience, and intellectual force.'' Over the next three decades,
    Justice White showed those qualities in majority opinions of great depth
    and in dissenting opinions of great wisdom and courage. When he passed
    away last year, people across our country felt that loss of a superb
    judge and a great American.
        John Wooden is also a Hall of Famer, one of
    the only two enshrined both as basketball player and basketball coach.
    In a legendary career, Coach Wooden led his teams to 885 victories with
    only 203 losses. His players included some of the alltime greats: Kareem
    Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton and Gail Goodrich, to name a
    few.
        But all his players will tell you the most important man on their
    team was not on the court. He was the man who taught generations of
    basketball players the fundamentals of hard work and discipline,
    patience, and teamwork. Coach Wooden remains a part of their lives as a
    teacher of the game and as an example of what a good man should be. Nell
    Wooden, the coach's wife of 53 years, would be incredibly proud of him
    again. Coach Wooden, it's wonderful to see you
    with us today.
        Another recipient this afternoon would have been 69 years old next
    month. Millions of Americans remember hearing the news that Roberto
    Clemente had been lost on a mission to help the people of Nicaragua
    after an earthquake. His full name was Roberto Clemente Walker, and in
    an era of Mays and Mantle and Aaron, he ranked as one of the greats.
        He was a young man with a quick bat, a rifle arm, and a gentle
    heart. In the words of one baseball executive, ``I never

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    saw any ballplayer like him. No, sir. Whenever anybody signs a big
    contract these days, we always wonder how many millions Clemente would
    be worth.'' As a former team owner, it would be a lot. [Laughter] Yet
    the true worth of this man, seen in how he lived his life and how he
    lost his life, cannot be measured in money. And all these years later,
    his family can know that America cherishes the memory of Roberto
    Clemente.
        Our country and our world have been improved by the lives of the men
    and women we honor today. And now it is my honor to present the awards,
    and I ask the military aide to read the citations.

    [At this point, Lt. Col. John Newell, USAF, Air
    Force Aide to the President, read the citations, and the President
    presented the medals.]

        The President. Thank you all for coming. And Laura and I would now like to invite you to join us for a
    reception to honor these great Americans and great member of the Czech
    Republic, our great friend.
        Thank you all for coming. God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:05 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of
    Texas.