[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 27 (Monday, July 5, 2004)]
[Pages 1184-1185]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Swearing-In Ceremony for John C. Danforth as United States 
Representative to the United Nations

July 1, 2004

    The President. Please be seated. Good afternoon. It's an honor to 
welcome Jack and Sally Danforth and their wonderful family to the White 
House. I want to thank Justice Thomas and Ginny, Deputy Secretary 
Armitage, and all the other distinguished guests for joining us here 
today.
    In his remarkable career, Jack Danforth has been called Attorney 
General, Senator, Special Counsel, Special Envoy, and Reverend. 
[Laughter] He's been called ``Saint Jack.'' It's a little beyond my 
power to confer. [Laughter] Today I am very proud to name this good man 
and superb public servant America's next Ambassador to the United 
Nations.
    As our Ambassador, Jack Danforth will succeed a good man with an 
important new mission. On Tuesday, former U.N. Ambassador John 
Negroponte presented his credentials to President al-Yawr as America's 
first Ambassador to Iraq since 1990. We appreciate his continuing 
service to our country.
    For his own new assignment, Jack Danforth is exceptionally well-
prepared. During his years on Capitol Hill, he earned the admiration of 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Jack is a man of strong 
convictions, unquestioned integrity, and great decency. He is a man of 
calm and judicious temperament who goes about his work with deliberation 
and a good will that draws others to his cause. These qualities were 
evident during his 18 years as Missouri's United States Senator and 
during his recent assignment in the Sudan. I'm confident that his good 
judgment and wisdom will serve America well at the United Nations.
    Jack Danforth now heads to New York at a critical time, when the 
United States and the United Nations are facing new tests. We are called 
to defend the peace against ruthless terrorist networks and against 
outlaw regimes that support and shelter them. We are called to preserve 
the peace by building good relations among the great powers. We're 
called to extend the peace by replacing poverty and repression and 
resentment around the world, especially in the broader Middle East. 
America is determined to lead all in these great objectives.
    Yet, no nation can achieve them alone. Global challenges must be 
answered by active, effective, multilateral institutions. So we're 
working with many nations on the Proliferation Security Initiative, for 
example, to interdict dangerous weapons and materials in transit. We're 
helping to transform the NATO Alliance, which is now acting beyond 
Europe, bringing security to Afghanistan and soon providing training 
assistance for Iraqi security forces. And we're challenging the United 
Nations to rise to its responsibilities in a changing world.
    The U.N. must fulfill its mission of peace by holding outlaw states 
to account, by aiding the rise of stable democracies, and by encouraging 
development and hope as alternatives to stagnation and bitterness. The 
U.N. is serving these great purposes in many different places. In Iraq, 
the U.N. is helping that newly sovereign nation to prepare for free and 
fair elections and will help to draft a new constitution. From Africa to 
the Caribbean, the U.N. is helping to turn societies away from old 
conflicts, to overcome persistent poverty, to fight AIDS and other 
diseases.
    America supports all these efforts, and we know that more will be 
necessary. So I'm sending Jack Danforth to the U.N. with a clear 
mandate. America will work closely with the United Nations to confront 
terror and to fight the suffering and despair that terrorists exploit. 
In all our work at the U.N., Ambassador John C. Danforth will be a 
strong voice for the humane and decent conscience of America.

[[Page 1185]]

    One of Jack's many virtues is an eye for talent. Three decades ago, 
in Jefferson City, he took a chance on a promising lawyer from Pinpoint, 
Georgia. Since then, Attorney General Danforth has moved on to some 
other impressive jobs, and so has his young assistant. Today it is my 
honor to ask Justice Clarence Thomas to swear in Jack Danforth as the 
Representative of the United States to the United Nations.

Note: The President spoke at 2:40 p.m. in Room 450 of the Dwight D. 
Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to 
Sally Danforth, wife of Ambassador Danforth; and Virginia Thomas, wife 
of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The transcript released by the 
Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of Ambassador 
Danforth.