[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 11 (Monday, March 22, 1999)]
[Pages 458-461]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom
to George J. Mitchell

March 17, 1999

    The President. Well, thank you very much. I am very grateful for 
your warm reception. I take it you had a good time inside. [Laughter] 
You not only put me out of the White House, you put all of yourselves 
out, too, because we wanted to be here where we could sit as one, to 
participate in this very important ceremony.
    I thank you, Taoiseach, Celia. I thank all the party leaders who are 
here: Mr. Trimble, Mr. Mallon, John Hume, Gerry Adams, all the others. I 
thank Mo Mowlam for her tireless work. And the members of the Irish 
Government who are here, I thank all of them.
    Mo Mowlam has got a great sense of humor, so I'm going to tell you a 
story she told me upstairs, and I'll never live over it, I know. But she 
said one night she spent the night here with Hillary and me, and she got 
in rather late. We stayed up rather later speaking. And then she went to 
sleep, and something happened, and she had to get on the phone early in 
the morning, London time, which is in the middle of the night our time. 
And the operator called back and said that she was having trouble 
finding Secretary Mowlam; she was in Mr. Lincoln's bedroom. [Laughter] 
She said it was quite obvious the operator did not know who Mr. Lincoln 
was or that he had been deceased for quite some time. [Laughter] But she 
at least felt that she was in good company. [Laughter]
    I would like to thank the members of our administration who are here 
and the rather astonishing number of Members of Congress who are here. 
I'd like to ask all the Members of the United States Congress who are 
here to please stand, wherever you are. [Applause] Thank you. Many have 
come with their spouses. Congressman King came with about 15 members of 
his family--[laughter]--represents about 5 percent of the total brood. 
[Laughter] We're delighted to see them all.
    I'd also like to say a special word of welcome to Senator Mitchell 
and to Heather and to all of George's family and friends who are here. 
As all of you know, in addition to the entertainment, which we'll talk 
about in a moment, our primary purpose here is to give me the 
opportunity, in front of the Irish-American community and so many of our 
friends from Ireland, north and south, to present the Presidential Medal 
of Freedom to Senator George Mitchell. [Applause] Thank you.
    I really don't know if this is going to mean anything to George 
anymore; he's gotten so many honors lately. He can't walk two blocks 
down any street without someone throwing some sort of trophy at him--
[laughter]--Irish-American of the Year, Honorary Degree from Dublin's 
Trinity College. He even got an honorary knighthood from the Queen of 
England. George Lucas offered to give him ``the Force''--[laughter]--but 
he said ``the Force'' was already with him. [Laughter]

[[Page 459]]

    Few Americans have served with such distinction in so many different 
capacities: prosecutor, judge, Senator, Presidential envoy, chair of 
Northern Ireland's historic peace talks. His, as most of you know, is a 
great American story. His father, born to Irish immigrants, adopted by 
Lebanese immigrants; his mother herself born in Lebanon. She worked a 
night shift at a textile mill; his father cleaned the buildings at Colby 
College. They stressed education and hard work, and George supplemented 
his scholarships with jobs as steward, dorm proctor, construction 
worker, night watchman, truck driver, and insurance adjustor.
    Now we all know why he fought so hard for the working people of our 
country. At one time or another, he did everything that they do all day, 
every day.
    I've heard George say on more than one occasion that his favorite 
part of being a Federal judge was administering the citizenship oath to 
new American citizens. He said he was very moved when one of them told 
him, ``I came here because in America, everybody has a chance.''
    Well, this son of immigrants has done his dead-level best to make 
sure that in our country everybody does have a chance. And he replaced a 
remarkable man, Senator Edmund Muskie, in the Senate and in just 8 years 
became the majority leader.
    In our time together, he pushed through crucial laws that enabled us 
to turn around our horrendous deficit, get our budget in order, and 
start to grow our economy again, to give tax breaks to working people, 
to broaden voter registration, to give 20 million people, now, access to 
the family and medical leave law, to put 100,000 police on the street, 
protect religious freedom, clean up the environment, stand up for our 
veterans. That's just a few of the things that he did.
    When he announced his retirement, it was a bittersweet moment, for 
friends and colleagues wished him well but also knew we would miss him 
dearly in this town. And I devised a scheme, the dimensions of which 
George would only later appreciate. [Laughter] I think it is the only 
time in our long relationship where I outsmarted him, instead of the 
other way around. [Laughter]
    I asked him to take a small, part-time commitment as my special 
economic adviser to Northern Ireland. [Laughter] Then the British and 
Irish Governments stepped in and asked him to chair talks on disarmament 
and then on bringing a comprehensive peace after a generation of 
bloodshed. The small, part-time commitment became more all-consuming 
than being Senate majority leader. I got even with him for leaving me. 
[Laughter]
    He drew up principles of nonviolence, aimed at preventing further 
tragedies while the talks proceeded. In building common ground among 
longtime antagonists he was a patient listener when he needed to be and 
a decisive leader when he had to be. He earned the respect of all 
parties for fairness, integrity, and judgment. And he built the trust 
necessary to move toward an agreement.
    Through more than 100 trips across the Atlantic, shall I say that 
again?--through more than 100 trips across the Atlantic, he continued to 
press ahead in the cause of peace. Northern Ireland learned what its 
sister and brothers knew from endless nights of cribbage, what his 
college basketball teammates saw from their tenacious starting guard, 
what his fellow legislators learned on the Senate floor and on the 
tennis court, and what I learned as his friend and colleague: Don't be 
fooled by the calm demeanor; this guy is a ferocious competitor, 
determined to succeed.
    During the course of this endeavor, George and Heather's son, 
Andrew, was born. George thought of Andrew, and also of the 61 children 
born in Northern Ireland on the same day. He wanted to champion their 
future as well, to give them the same chance for a good life he wanted 
for his own son.
    What motivated George brought to mind for me a letter I read last 
summer at Omagh when, together, we met with survivors of the bombing 
there. It was sent to our then-Ambassador to Ireland, Jean Kennedy 
Smith, who is also with us tonight, and thank you, Jean.
    I want to read this to you so you will understand from a personal 
point of view why I'm giving this medal to George tonight and why

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I want every person who is a part of this process to leave here tonight 
determined to get over this last hurdle and to remember that we do not 
have a day to waste. Easter is coming again. Good Friday is coming 
again.
    We have to give an accounting of ourselves. So remember this: ``Dear 
Ambassador, you may not know me. You may not even get this letter. But 
after yesterday's tragedy, I wanted to do something. I'm 29 years old, 
an Irishman to the very core of my being. But throughout my life, there 
has never been peace on this island. I never realized how precious peace 
could be until my wife gave birth to our daughter, Ashleen, 20 months 
ago. We don't want her to grow up in a society that is constantly 
waiting for the next atrocity, the next batch of young lives snuffed out 
by hatred and fear.
    ``Ashleen's name means `vision' or `dream,' and we have a dream of 
what Ireland might be like when she grows up. Ireland could be a place 
where dreams would come true, where people would achieve things never 
imagined before, where people would not be afraid of their neighbors. We 
know America has done much for Ireland and all we ask is that you keep 
trying. Please keep Ireland in mind because Ashleen and all Irish 
children need to be able to dream.''
    Well, my thanks go to the Taoiseach, to Prime Minister Blair, to Mo 
Mowlam, the leaders of the parties, our Government, but especially to my 
good friend George Mitchell, who never meant to sign on for quite the 
job he got but who did it as an act of love and devotion.
    George, thank you for your service to our Nation. Thank you for your 
wisdom. Thank you for being so tenacious. Thank you for your friendship 
and for being a truly fine human being.
    Major Everhart, read the citation.

[At this point, Maj. Carlton Everhart, USAF, Air Force Aide to the 
President, read the citation. The President then presented the medal, 
and George Mitchell made brief remarks.]

    The President. Thank you, George, for your service and your remarks 
tonight.
    You know, when you stay in this work as long as Senator Mitchell and 
I have, you're not often moved by what other people in public life say. 
And even sometimes when you're moved, you doubt the ability of one 
person's words to move another. Tonight I think I can speak for all of 
us when I say we were genuinely moved by what George Mitchell said.
    And I believe I can speak for all of us who are not parties and will 
have no direct say, that we hope and pray that they were moved and 
emboldened and redetermined by Senator Mitchell's words. I will say what 
I have said from the beginning: The United States will support all sides 
in Ireland that take honest steps for peace. And I hope and believe that 
the necessary steps can be taken before we pass another Good Friday.
    Thank you very much.
    Now, enough of this really too serious stuff. Now we're going to 
have St. Patrick's Day fun. Let me begin by thanking the performers who 
already have been entertaining you here and in the White House. Let me 
mention them all, and then I think we should give them a round of 
applause: the Irish Fire band and dancers from the O'Hare School of 
Irish Dance; the Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance and The Next 
Generation Band; the harpists, Ellen James and Michael O'Hanlan; the 
Prince George's County Police Pipe Band; and the U.S. Marine Band Irish 
Ensemble. Thank you very much. Hillary and I appreciate it. [Applause]
    There is another great performance ahead: Both Sides Now, music and 
spoken words celebrating the people of Northern Ireland. You will hear 
the great music from our friends Phil Coulter and James Galway, two of 
Ireland's and the world's great musicians. Last December they performed 
together in Oslo on a great day, the day John Hume and David Trimble 
received the Nobel Peace Prize.
    They are joined by some familiar faces, Roma Downey and Aidan Quinn. 
We thank them for being here. And you will hear from the musicians of 
Different Drums of Ireland, whose sounds represent a melding of 
Ireland's traditions.
    Finally, you will hear from a truly beautiful and remarkable young 
woman, Claire Gallagher. She lost her sight in the terrible bombing at 
Omagh, but she did not lose the vision

[[Page 461]]

and strength of her spirit and soul. And her mission for peace is 
powerful and clear.
    Claire came here tonight with her parents, her siblings, her 
teacher, and we are genuinely honored to have her. Hillary was so moved 
by her before in Northern Ireland, and I can't say enough about my 
respect for what she has done to carry on with what will still be a 
genuinely remarkable life.
    I thank all of our performers in advance. And again, I say I hope 
the music and the spirit embodied by the Irish who are here will also 
help to give us the strength and resolve to fulfill the final promises 
of the Good Friday accord.
    Thank you, and God bless you

Note: The President spoke at 8:45 p.m. in a pavilion on the South 
Grounds at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime 
Minister Bertie Ahern of Ireland; Celia Larkin, who accompanied Prime 
Minister Ahern; First Minister David Trimble and Deputy First Minister 
Seamus Mallon of the Northern Ireland Assembly; Social Democratic and 
Labour Party leader John Hume; Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams; Queen 
Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Secretary of State for 
Northern Ireland Marjorie Mowlam of the United Kingdom; ``Star Wars'' 
creator George Lucas; and actors Roma Downey and Aidan Quinn. The 
transcript made available by the Office of the Press Secretary also 
included the remarks of Mr. Mitchell.