[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[December 15, 2006]
[Pages 2185-2189]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom
December 15, 2006

    The President. Please be seated. Thank you all for coming. Welcome. 
Mr. Vice President, members of my Cabinet, 
Laura and I are pleased you could join us on this 
special occasion. We're delighted to welcome our distinguished honorees 
as well as their families and friends to the White House. Thanks for 
coming.
    The Presidential Medal of Freedom is our Nation's highest civil 
honor. The Medal recognizes high achievement in public service, science, 
the arts, education, athletics, and other fields. Today we honor 10 
exceptional individuals who have gained great admiration and respect 
throughout our country.
    Norman Y. Mineta personifies the terms 
``public servant'' and ``patriot.'' He served as an Army intelligence 
officer, the mayor of San Jose, California, 10-term U.S. Congressman, 
and a Cabinet member under Presidents of both parties. He was my 
Secretary of Transportation. No Secretary of Transportation ever served 
longer or confronted greater challenges than Norm Mineta.
    On September the 11th, 2001, he led the 
effort to bring thousands of commercial and private aircraft swiftly and 
safely to the ground. Norm was calm, and he was decisive in a moment of 
emergency. He showed those same qualities in the months and years 
afterward, ably transforming his Department to face the dangers of a new 
era.
    Norm Mineta's whole life has been an 
extraordinary journey. At the age of 10, he was sent with his mom and 
dad to an internment camp for Japanese Americans. Such wrongful 
treatment could have left a person bitter, but not Norm Mineta. Instead, 
he has given his country a lifetime of service, and he's given his 
fellow citizens an example of leadership, devotion to duty, and personal 
character. Mr. Secretary, you're a good friend and a great man, and our 
country honors you.
    With us today is Warren O'Neil, who will 
accept the Medal of Freedom on behalf of his brother, John Jordan 
``Buck'' O'Neil. Buck O'Neil passed 
away in October, after a baseball career spanning more than seven 
decades. He joined the Negro League in 1938, as a first baseman for the 
Kansas City Monarchs. Buck O'Neil won two batting titles and played on 
nine championship teams, and as a manager, guided the Monarchs to four 
league titles. After finishing his playing career, Buck O'Neil

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joined the Chicago Cubs as a scout and later as the first African 
American coach in the major leagues. He never did slow down. For the 
rest of his life, he was active in baseball, not just from the stands or 
the dugout.
    In July of this year, he took a 
turn at bat in a minor league all-star game in Kansas City. They wisely 
pitched around him--[laughter]--he drew a walk--at the age of 94 years 
old. [Laughter] Buck O'Neil is also remembered as one of the game's best 
historians and ambassadors. He was the driving force behind the Negro 
Leagues Baseball Museum; he was proud to be its chairman. But he once 
said: ``It never should have been a Negro League. Shouldn't have been.'' 
Buck O'Neil lived long enough to see the game of baseball and America 
change for the better. He's one of the people we can thank for that. 
Buck O'Neil was a legend, and he was a beautiful human being. And we 
honor the memory of Buck O'Neil.
    One day in 1961, Ruth Colvin of 
Syracuse, New York, read a disturbing statistic in the morning 
newspaper. She learned that more than 11,000 people in her hometown 
could not read. Ruth wondered, ``Why isn't somebody doing something 
about it?'' Ruth decided that she would do something. Working out of her 
basement, she formed a network of citizens willing to donate their time 
as reading tutors. Before long, that network reached beyond Syracuse and 
beyond New York, and it had a name: Literacy Volunteers of America. Over 
the years, the volunteers have helped hundreds of thousands of adults 
learn the reading and language skills they need to build a better life. 
Ruth rightly says, ``The ability to read and write is critical to 
personal freedom and the maintenance of a democratic society.''
    Ruth's good influence has continued 
to grow. She travels the world promoting literacy with her husband and 
best friend, Bob. She started literacy campaigns 
on multiple continents. Ruth has also made many dear friends, including 
another great crusader for literacy, my mother. 
[Laughter] Ruth's children, Terry and 
Lindy, know what I know--that you better listen 
to your mother. [Laughter] Ruth has said, ``I am and always have been a 
volunteer.'' More than that, Ruth Colvin is a person of intelligence and 
vision and heart, and she has earned the gratitude of many and the 
admiration of us all. Congratulations.
    Like Ruth, Dr. Norman C. 
Francis has dedicated his life to 
education. He achieved early distinction as the first African American 
to graduate from the Loyola University College of Law. In 1968, he 
became president of his alma mater, Xavier University in New Orleans, 
and he is today the longest serving university president in the United 
States. Dr. Francis is known across Louisiana and throughout our country 
as a man of deep intellect and compassion and character. He's an Army 
veteran. He led the United Negro College Fund. He was chairman of the 
board of the Educational Testing Service, and he holds only 35 honorary 
degrees. [Laughter]
    Last year, after Hurricane Katrina did great damage to the Xavier 
campus, Dr. Francis vowed the university 
would overcome and reopen its doors by January, and he kept that pledge. 
Dr. Francis continues to help the people of southeast Louisiana as the 
leader of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. As they continue to rebuild 
from the devastation of the hurricanes, the people of the Pelican State 
will benefit from the leadership of this good man. And all of us admire 
the good life and remarkable career of Dr. Norman C. Francis.
    Joshua Lederberg has always seemed 
ahead of his time. He was researching genetics when the field was 
scarcely understood. He was studying the implications of space travel 
before there were astronauts. And even three decades ago, he was warning 
of the dangers of biological warfare. All of his life, people have seen 
something special in this rabbi's son from Montclair, New Jersey. 
Someone who knew him in

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college said, ``You could tell that Joshua was in the lab because you 
could hear the breaking glass.'' [Laughter] ``He was so young, bursting 
with potential.''
    He earned his Ph.D. in his early 
twenties. At the age of 33, he won the Nobel Prize. Dr. Lederberg has 
remained at the top of the scientific field as a professor, researcher, 
and writer. As a columnist and adviser to many administrations, he 
brought clear, independent thinking and wisdom to matters of public 
policy, especially in national security and nonproliferation. For his 
brilliant career, his high ethical standards, and his many contributions 
to our country, the United States thanks Joshua Lederberg.
    Americans first came to know Natan Sharansky as a voice for freedom inside an empire of tyranny. 
As a Jew applying to immigrate to Israel, he was refused and harassed by 
the Soviet regime. Natan Sharansky became a leading dissident and 
advocate for human rights. And after a show trial, he was sentenced to a 
gulag for 10 years. The authorities may have hoped the world would 
forget the name Sharansky. Instead, leaders like President Reagan and 
Ambassador Kirkpatrick spoke often of his persecution, and the case of 
Natan Sharansky became a symbol of the moral emptiness of imperial 
communism.
    Today, the Soviet Union is history, but the world still knows the 
name Sharansky. As a free man, he's 
become a political leader in Israel, winning four elections to the 
Knesset and serving more than 8 years in the Cabinet. He remains, above 
all, an eloquent champion for liberty and democracy. Natan reminds us 
that every soul carries the desire to live in freedom and that freedom 
has a unique power to lift up nations, transform regions, and secure a 
future for peace. Natan Sharansky is a witness to that power, and his 
testimony brings hope to those who still live under oppression. We honor 
Natan Sharansky for his life of courage and conviction.
    The struggle between freedom and tyranny has defined the past 100 
years, and few have written of that struggle with greater skill than 
Paul Johnson. His book, ``Modern Times: The 
World from the Twenties to the Eighties,'' is a masterful account of the 
grievous harm visited on millions by ideologies of power and coercion. 
In all his writings, Paul Johnson shows great breadth of knowledge and 
moral clarity and a deep understanding of the challenges of our time. 
He's written hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including ``The 
History of the Jews,'' ``The History of Christianity,'' ``The Quest for 
God,'' and ``The Birth of the Modern.'' Obviously, the man is not afraid 
to take on big subjects. [Laughter]
    Eight years ago, he published ``A History 
of the American People,'' which Dr. Henry Kissinger said was ``as majestic in scope as the country it 
celebrates.'' In the preface, Paul Johnson called Americans ``the most 
remarkable people the world has ever seen.'' He said, ``I love them, and 
I salute them.'' That's a high tribute from a man of such learning and 
wisdom, and America returns the feeling. Our country honors Paul Johnson 
and proudly calls him a friend.
    One of America's unique gifts to the world is a music called the 
blues. And in that music, two names are paramount: B.B. King and his guitar, Lucille. [Laughter] It has been said 
that when John Lennon was asked to name his great ambition, he said, 
``to play the guitar like B.B. King.'' Many musicians have had that same 
goal, but nobody has ever been able to match the skill or copy the sound 
of the ``King of the Blues.''
    He came up the hard way in the Deep 
South, living alone when he was 9 years old, walking miles to school and 
picking cotton for 35 cents a day. Barely out of his teens, he made his 
first trip to Memphis, Tennessee, with his guitar and $2.50 in his 
pocket. He made his name on Beale Street, and his studio recordings made 
him

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a national favorite. B.B. King has sold more than 40 million records. He 
won 14 Grammys. He has a place on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He's 
influenced generations of musicians from blues to rock, and he's 
performed in venues from roadside nightclubs to Carnegie Hall. He's 
still touring, and he's still recording, and he's still singing, and 
he's still playing the blues better than anybody else. In other words, 
the thrill is not gone. [Laughter] America loves the music of B.B. King, 
and America loves the man himself. Congratulations.
    William Safire joined the White House 
staff nearly 38 years ago as a speechwriter to the President. President 
Nixon once introduced Bill this way: ``This is Safire, absolutely 
trustworthy, but watch what you say--he's a writer.'' [Laughter] Writing 
has been at the center of Bill Safire's eventful life, going back to his 
days in the U.S. Army and as a PR man in New York. As a young 
speechwriter drafting remarks for a New York City official, he used the 
word ``indomitable.'' When they asked Bill to find a better speech-word, 
he suggested ``indefatigable.'' [Laughter] They fired him. [Laughter] 
We're a little more lenient about speechwriting here. [Laughter]
    From the White House, Bill moved to the 
New York Times, where he spent more than 30 years as a columnist who was 
often skeptical about our Government but never cynical about our 
country. He always was committed to the cause of human freedom. His wit 
and style and command of English earned him another spot, his own page 
in the Times magazine every Sunday. Bill has said that his ``On 
Language'' column attracts more mail than any of his other work. People 
write me about my language too. [Laughter] Bill Safire has also written 
novels and a respected political dictionary. He won the Pulitzer Prize 
for commentary. He's a voice of independence and principle, and American 
journalism is better for the contributions of William Safire. 
Congratulations.
    David McCullough has won the Pulitzer 
Prize twice, for ``Truman'' and ``John Adams,'' two of the most 
successful biographies ever published. In person and on the printed 
page, David McCullough shares the lessons of history with enthusiasm and 
insight. He has written definitive works on the Johnstown flood, the 
building of the Brooklyn Bridge, and the digging of the Panama Canal. 
His first book out came--came out nearly 40 years ago; all of his books 
are still in print. David McCullough is also, for millions of Americans, 
the voice of history, as the narrator of Ken Burns's ``The Civil War'' 
and other films.
    For those who question the importance of history, David likes to quote Harry Truman, who said, ``The only thing 
new in the world is the history you do not know.'' David McCullough 
reminds us that ``the laws we live by, the freedoms we enjoy, the 
institutions that we take for granted are all the work of other people 
who went before us.'' He's a passionate man about our responsibility to 
know America's past and to share it with every new generation. He's 
fulfilled that duty in his own career with splendid results. This 
chronicler of other times is one of the eminent Americans of our own 
time. The Nation owes a debt of gratitude to a fine author and a fine 
man, David McCullough.
    Now the military aide will read the citations for the Presidential 
Medal of Freedom.

[At this point, Lt. Cmdr. Robert A. Roncska, USN, Navy Aide to the 
President, read the citations, and the President presented the medals.]

    The President. Thank you all for coming. Congratulations to our 
honorees. Laura and I would like to invite you to 
a reception here to pay tribute to some of the finest citizens the 
Almighty has ever produced.
    God bless you all.

Note: The President spoke at 10:18 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House.

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