[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
[January 13, 2009]
[Pages 1567-1570]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom
January 13, 2009

    The President. Good afternoon to everybody, and thank you all for 
coming. We have assembled quite a distinguished crowd to honor three 
good friends: President Uribe, Prime 
Minister Howard, and Prime Minister 
Blair. Laura and I welcome 
you to the White House.
    You'll always be welcomed in our country. And we hope to have you 
come down and visit us in Texas. As you probably have heard, we're 
changing addresses here--[laughter]--in a little less than 7 days.
    We're delighted to have a lot of distinguished guests, people who 
have worked with you throughout your time in office; members of your 
family who are here, we're really glad you've come.
    I want to thank the Vice President, members 
of the Cabinet, and Members of the Congress who have joined us as well. 
We offer a special welcome to those who are personal friends of the 
honorees. I know they're as delighted to have you here as I am.
    In a few moments the military aide will read 
the citations for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The medal is 
America's highest civil award. It is given in recognition of exemplary 
achievement and to convey the utmost esteem of the people and the 
President of the United States.
    In these 8 years, I have presented the Medal of Freedom to some of 
our most eminent citizens. On occasion, I have also had the honor of 
presenting it to citizens of other lands who inspired particular 
admiration in the United States and provided courageous leadership to 
our world. Among these recipients have been Vaclav Havel, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Nelson Mandela, and the 
late Pope John Paul II.
    This afternoon I am pleased to award the Medal of Freedom to 
three extraordinary leaders. We honor a sitting 
President and two former vice--Prime Ministers, each one of them a true 
friend of the United States who met historic challenges with great 
tenacity, and who provides a lasting example of statesmanship at home 
and abroad.
    The first day I met Tony Blair, almost 
exactly 8 years ago, he was in his second term as Prime Minister, and I 
was just starting out. After our first meeting, a reporter asked if we'd 
found anything in common, and I jokingly replied that we both used 
Colgate toothpaste. [Laughter]
    The truth is I did feel a close connection to Tony Blair. As I said after the first meeting, I knew that when 
either of us gets in a bind, there will be a friend on the other end of 
the phone. My friend was there, indeed, after America was attacked on 
September the 11th, 2001. And it just wasn't on the phone line. When I 
stood in the House Chamber to ask the civilized world to rally to 
freedom's cause, there in the gallery was the staunch friend, Prime 
Minister Tony Blair.
    He was there in a moment of trial to affirm 
the special relationship between the United States and the United 
Kingdom. And he was there to show America, and all nations, that he 
understood the stakes in the war on terror. As he said, ``Just as the 
terrorist seeks to divide humanity in hate, so we have to unify it 
around an idea. And that idea is liberty.'' Under Tony Blair's 
leadership, the might and the moral authority of Great Britain have been 
applied to the war on terror from the first day. Our nations have worked 
proudly together to destroy terrorist havens, liberate millions, and 
help rising democracies to serve the aspirations of their people.
    Tony Blair's entire career is defined by his 
devotion to democratic values and human dignity. At his very center, 
this man believes in freedom: freedom from oppression, freedom from 
hunger, freedom from

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disease, and freedom from fear and despair. In the House of Commons, as 
the longest serving Labour Prime Minister in history, he fought to lift 
up his nation's communities and better the lives of all its people. He 
helped turn generations of violence in Northern Ireland into years of 
peace. He drew the attention and conscience of the world to the 
suffering in Africa, and he continues to serve the cause of peace and 
democracy as the Quartet Envoy to the Middle East.
    Out of office but still in public life, Tony Blair remains on the world stage as a man of high intelligence 
and insight, and above all, as a man of faith and idealism and 
integrity. The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will stand 
tall in history. And today the United States of America proudly honors 
its gallant friend Tony Blair.
    John Howard of Australia has spent a lot of 
years in politics. He's won some, and he's lost a few. There was even a 
time, two decades ago, when he thought his days of political leadership 
might be over. A comeback, he said, would be like ``Lazarus with a 
triple bypass.'' [Laughter] The man has got an unusual way of speaking. 
[Laughter]
    With his plain-spoken style and unpretentious manner, John 
Howard did make a comeback. He rose to his 
nation's highest elected office, won four straight elections, and served 
longer than all other Australian Prime Ministers but one. And all the 
while, John Howard retained his close connection with the people of his 
country. His time in office was marked by great national confidence and 
prosperity and rising global influence. He won the respect of leaders 
around the world for his commitment to free markets, cooperation, and 
the peaceful resolution of differences. He was a faithful steward of 
Australia's alliances and a sturdy friend in a time of need.
    At an event here in Washington, he reflected 
on the many tests that our two countries faced together in the 20th 
century. He spoke with feeling about our shared values, as well as our 
obligation to defend them, and ``if necessary fight for them, and be 
ready to repel those who would seek to take [our] freedoms away.''
    As it happens, John Howard spoke those words 
on Monday, September the 10th, 2001, and in all that followed, he proved 
true to his convictions. He always has been brave in the defense of 
freedom. In these 7 years, both our countries have lost innocent 
civilians and suffered casualties on the field of battle. But this man, 
who saw the burning Pentagon on September the 11th, and who confronted--
comforted the survivors of Bali, never wavered in his commitment to 
overcoming this great danger to civilization. He never wavered in his 
support for liberty, and free institutions, and the rule of law as the 
true and hopeful alternatives to ideologies of violence and repression. 
He's a man of honesty and moral clarity. He can make a decision, he can 
defend it, and he stands his ground. That's why I called him a man of 
steel.
    In the character of John Winston Howard we 
see that fine Australian spirit of ``standing by your mates.'' Our two 
countries, though half a world apart, have long enjoyed an easy and 
natural fellowship. And the 25th Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of 
Australia stands for all that Americans like and admire most about this 
wonderful country.
    So, Mr. Prime Minister, our friend, welcome 
to the White House and congratulations.
    National leaders sometimes take office without fully knowing all the 
tests that await them. But when Alvaro Uribe became the President of Colombia, the challenges were 
in full view. He knew exactly what he was getting into.
    For more than a generation, good and decent people across that 
country had lived at the mercy of brutal drug cartels and illegal, armed 
groups. A contagion of terrorist violence and killings and kidnapings 
had shaken the political system and caused

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many Colombians to despair for their nation's future. Early in this 
decade, the Republic of Colombia was near the point of being, at best, a 
failed state, or at worst, a narco-state. In those conditions, it took 
more than ambition and ideals to run for political office; it required 
immense personal courage and strength of character.
    As a Presidential candidate in 2002, Alvaro Uribe pledged to his people greater security, a healthier 
democracy, and a better chance for prosperous lives. He was elected on a 
theme that expressed perfectly what the Colombian people desired in a 
President: ``Strong hand and big heart.''
    President Uribe's leadership has been 
resolute and uncompromising. Today, in Colombia, homicides are down 40 
percent, kidnapings are down more than 80 percent, terror attacks are 
down by more than 75 percent. The forces of violence are on the 
defensive, and the people are reclaiming their country.
    President Uribe's fellow citizens 
know him as someone who speaks forthrightly and follows through on his 
commitments. With his lifelong interest in public policy, he has a 
phenomenal grasp of the details of governing. At the same time, he has 
formed a powerful bond with his people. They've met their President in 
townhalls across the country. They've seen him deliver results. They 
like him, and they trust him. And they have made him the first Colombian 
leader in the modern era to win reelection.
    Lately, I've been asked to reflect on the most memorable events of 
my Presidency. Among those is a phone call I received several months ago 
from President Uribe. He called to say 
that a group of hostages, including 
three Americans, 
that had been held in captivity for 5 years, had been rescued and were 
alive and safe and sound. It was a joyful moment, Mr. President. And it 
was a credit to your leadership.
    For President Uribe, the great 
demands of office continue. Today the United States honors all 
Colombians by honoring the man they have chosen to lead them. By 
refusing to allow the land he loves to be destroyed by an enemy within, 
by proving that terror can be opposed and defeated, President Uribe has 
reawakened the hopes of his countrymen and shown a model of leadership 
to a watching world. Colombia remains a nation with challenges. But the 
future will always be bright in a country that produces such men as 
President Alvaro Uribe.
    Congratulations, mi amigo.
    Each of these 
gentlemen we honor today has his own style and 
personality, and each has amassed distinctions and achievements that 
belong to him alone. Yet all of them have shown a firm adherence to the 
principles of freedom and democratic values and a willingness to face 
problems squarely instead of passing them on to others. They're the sort 
of guys who look you in the eye and tell you the truth and keep their 
word. In lengthy service they proved to be leaders of character and 
fortitude. They are warm friends of the United States of America. The 
opportunity to know them and work with them has been among the great 
satisfactions of my time as President. I respect them, and I admire 
them.
    And now I ask the military aide to read the 
citations, and it will be my honor to present the Presidential Medal of 
Freedom to Tony Blair, John Howard, Alvaro Uribe.

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

    The President. In honor of these 
distinguished gentlemen, Laura and I invite you to stay 
for a reception in the State Dining Room. Please enjoy yourselves, and 
thank you for joining us here at the White House.

Note: The President spoke at 1:07 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to former President Vaclav Havel of 
the Czech Republic; President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia; former

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President Nelson R. Mandela of South Africa; and Marc Gonsalves, Thomas 
Howes, and Keith Stansell, former hostages held by the Revolutionary 
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The Office of the Press Secretary also 
released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.