[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 45 (Monday, November 12, 2007)]
[Pages 1454-1458]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom

November 5, 2007

    The President. Good morning. Laura and I are thrilled to welcome you 
to the White House. We welcome the Members of Congress, the members of 
the Cabinet, and other distinguished guests. It's an honor to be with 
the Medal of Freedom recipients as well as their family members and 
friends. We're sure glad you're here.
    The Medal of Freedom is the highest civil honor that a President can 
bestow. By an Executive order of John F. Kennedy, the medal is designed 
to recognize great contributions to national security, the cause of 
peace and freedom, science, the arts, literature, and many other fields. 
The eight men and women came to this distinction by very different 
paths. Each of them, by effort and by character, has earned the respect 
of the American people and holds a unique place in the story of our 
time.
    Our first honoree, Dr. Gary Becker, once said, ``Many intellectuals, 
many economists use obscure language when they write. Sometimes it's a 
way of disguising that they are not saying a heck of a lot.'' This 
economist, however, is different. Gary Becker's many books and articles 
and his 19 years as a weekly columnist have provided--proved him to be a 
thinker of originality and clarity.
    Dr. Becker has shown that economic principles do not just exist in 
theory. Instead, they help to explain human behavior in fields well 
beyond economics. He has shown that by applying these principles to 
public policy, we can make great strides in promoting enterprise and 
public safety, protecting the environment, improving public schools, and 
strengthening the family. Dr. Becker has explained, as well, the real 
value of investing in human capital. He knows full well that an educated 
and well-trained workforce adds to the vigors of our economy and helps 
raise the standard of living for all of us.
    This longtime professor at the University of Chicago has helped 
train hundreds of talented economists. He has been a wise and 
challenging presence in the lives of his students, and they remain 
devoted to him. One close friend said, ``A 15-minute conversation with 
Gary Becker can change your thinking forever.'' He is without question 
one of the most influential economists of the last hundred years. With 
today's honor, he is one of only two persons to have received both the 
Nobel Prize in Economics and the Medal of Freedom. The other was the 
late Milton Friedman. And I know that today Dr. Friedman would be very 
proud of his friend and student and colleague, Dr. Gary Becker. 
Congratulations.
    The Medal of Freedom for Oscar Elias Biscet will be accepted this 
morning by his son, Yan Valdes. His daughter, Winnie, is also present. 
Dr. Biscet is not with us today because he is a political prisoner of 
the regime in Havana. This ceremony at the White House is being 
broadcast live into Cuba. To the citizens of that land, I send the 
respect and good wishes of the United States.
    Oscar Biscet is a healer known to 11 million Cubans as a physician, 
a community organizer, and an advocate for human rights. For two 
decades, he has told the world what he has seen in Cuba: the arrogance 
of a one-party state; the suppression of political dissent; the coercion 
of expectant mothers. For speaking the truth, Dr. Biscet has endured 
repeated harassment, beatings, and detentions. The international 
community agrees that Dr. Biscet's imprisonment is unjust, yet the 
regime has refused every call for his release.

[[Page 1455]]

    To the Cuban dictatorship, Dr. Biscet is a dangerous man. He is 
dangerous in the same way that Martin Luther King, Jr., and Gandhi were 
dangerous. He is a man of peace, a man of truth, and a man of faith. In 
captivity for most of the last 8 years, he has continued to embody 
courage and dignity. His example is a rebuke to the tyrants and secret 
police of a regime whose day is passing.
    Dr. Biscet is also a young man. God willing, he'll soon regain his 
freedom, as justice demands. He deserves to be reunited with his wife, 
Elsa, and all their family. And the land they call home deserves to be 
free. When that day arrives, the peoples of Cuba and the United States 
will stand together as free men and women, and the liberated country 
will honor a great man with a mighty heart, Oscar Elias Biscet.
    When tyrannies fall, it's often the prisoners and exiles who are 
called forth to lead their people. We've seen this in our own time, in 
the lives of President Havel and President Mandela and Prime Minister 
Maliki and, in the Republic of Liberia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
    All of her life, President Sirleaf has been a pioneer. The daughter 
of a school teacher in Monrovia, she crossed the ocean as a young woman 
and earned three degrees in the United States. She has been a business 
executive, a development expert, a public official, and always a 
patriot. She loves Liberia, and she loves all its people. After a cabal 
seized power and plunged that country into years of upheaval and 
corruption and civil war, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf stood up for the 
democratic rights of her fellow citizens. She never wavered, even though 
the consequences were house arrest, foreign exile, death threats, and 
imprisonment.
    When free elections returned to Liberia, the voters made history. 
They chose her to be the first woman ever elected to lead a nation on 
the continent of Africa. She was inaugurated last year, with Laura and 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as proud witnesses. I remember 
asking Laura and Condi what kind of person I'd be dealing with. They 
said to expect a woman of depth and ability who know how to get things 
done. They were right. See, when the President comes to the Oval Office, 
she walks in with a to-do list. [Laughter]
    The President has the tough mind of a natural-born executive and the 
gentle instincts of a mother. Not surprisingly, the Liberian people have 
given her two affectionate nicknames. They call her the ``Iron Lady,'' 
and they call her ``Ma.'' She's begun an age of reform in a country with 
deep historic ties to the United States. As she said to a joint meeting 
of our Congress, ``Liberia will become a brilliant beacon, an example to 
Africa and to the world of what the love of liberty can achieve.''
    Madam President, America is proud to stand with Liberia. And today 
America honors you as a woman of courage and a giver of hope. Welcome 
back to the White House, my friend, and congratulations.
    Seventeen years ago, the Federal Government established a research 
project with the ambitious goal of mapping the entire human genome. The 
genome is best described as the code of life, the ``3.1 billion-letter 
instruction book that conveys all kinds of information and all kinds of 
mystery about humankind.'' Those were the words of Dr. Francis Collins, 
Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute and the man who 
led the Federal project to full and thrilling success.
    Many discoveries yet to be made and many scientific triumphs yet to 
be achieved will be directly traceable to the work of the human genome 
project. With genetic mapping, researchers know more than ever before 
about the hereditary influences behind cancer and heart disease and 
diabetes and many other conditions. And that understanding holds the key 
to earlier detection of illness, individualized treatments, and even 
lifesaving cures.
    In scope and long-term potential, the human genome project has been 
compared to the Apollo project. And its leader, Dr. Collins, is a well-
rounded man. Though he routinely works a 90-hour week, he is an 
accomplished singer and guitarist. [Laughter] I know this because I once 
heard him at the National Prayer Breakfast. You see, when a man can get 
up and sing in front of 3,000 people at 8 in the morning, there's 
something special in his DNA. [Laughter]

[[Page 1456]]

    From his days being home-schooled by his mom on a farm in Virginia, 
Francis Collins has been relentless in the pursuit of knowledge. He 
said, ``One of the strongest motivations of humankind is to seek answers 
to profound questions and [to understand] what is both seen and 
unseen.'' He has brought his extraordinary gifts to bear on the 
technical questions of genetics and on the ethical questions as well. 
Deep scientific understanding can be used for good or ill, and a lot 
turns on knowing the difference. Francis Collins is unafraid of the 
eternal questions, unswayed by fashion, and unwilling to overlook the 
distinction between right and wrong.
    Dr. Collins has often noted that ``at the DNA level, we're all 99.9 
percent the same. All of us.'' It's a reminder that the human genome 
project, with all the promise it holds for tomorrow, also confirms 
scientifically the timeless wisdom of the brotherhood of man. Americans 
are rightly proud this project succeeded in our own country, and we are 
proud of the wise and humane American scientist behind it, Francis 
Collins.
    Brotherhood is perhaps the greatest theme in the life and character 
of Dr. Benjamin Hooks. The man has always had what his friend Dr. King 
called the strength to love. As a civil rights activist, public servant, 
and minister of the Gospel, Dr. Hooks has extended the hand of 
fellowship throughout his years. It was not an always thing--easy thing 
to do, but it was always the right thing to do.
    Benjamin Hooks grew up in a segregated South, where economic 
advantages and even common courtesies were often denied to African 
Americans. In the Army during World War II, he guarded European 
prisoners of war held in the United States. When it was time to get 
something to eat, whites-only restaurants would serve the prisoners, but 
not Sergeant Hooks. After the war, he wanted to study law, but not a 
single law school in Tennessee would admit a black man. So he went to 
DePaul University in Chicago, then came back home, determined to ``break 
down that segregation, to end those days.''
    He became a lawyer and, in time, was also an ordained Baptist 
minister. He joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was 
an early crusader in that great movement. He also rose in the legal 
profession, becoming the first African American ever to serve as a judge 
of the Tennessee Criminal Court. He was named to the Federal 
Communications Commission by President Nixon.
    The Nation best remembers Benjamin Hooks as the leader of the NAACP. 
For 15 years, Dr. Hooks was a calm yet forceful voice for fairness, 
opportunity, and personal responsibility. He never tired or faltered in 
demanding that our Nation live up to its founding ideals of liberty and 
equality. His testimony had special power--for the words that he spoke 
and for the example that he set as a man of decency and rectitude.
    It's been a great journey, and he's traveled with a good and 
gracious woman at his side, Frances Hooks. They're a wonderful team. 
They've been married for 56 years.
    Dr. Hooks once said, ``You've got to believe that tomorrow somehow 
can be and will be better than today.'' Because he had that belief, 
because he held on to it, because he acted upon it, an old order has 
passed away. And all Americans can be grateful for the good works and 
the good life of Benjamin L. Hooks.
    The story of an old order and the glimmers of humanity that would 
one day overtake it was unforgettably told in a book by Miss Harper Lee. 
Soon after its publication, a reviewer said this: ``A hundred pounds of 
sermons on tolerance or an equal measure of invective deploring the lack 
of it will weigh far less in the scale of enlightenment than a mere 18 
ounces of a new fiction bearing the title `To Kill a Mockingbird.' ''
    Given her legendary stature as a novelist, you may be surprised to 
learn that Harper Lee, early in her career, was an airline reservation 
clerk. Fortunately for all of us, she didn't stick to writing 
itineraries. [Laughter] Her beautiful book, with its grateful prose and 
memorable characters, became one of the biggest selling novels of the 
20th century.
    Forty-six years after winning the Pulitzer Prize, ``To Kill a 
Mockingbird'' still touches and inspires every reader. We're moved by 
the story of a man falsely accused--with old prejudice massed against 
him and an old sense of honor that rises to his defense. We learn that 
courage can be a solitary business.

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As the lawyer Atticus Finch tells his daughter, ``Before I can live with 
other folks, I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't 
abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.''
    Years after ``To Kill a Mockingbird'' was put to film, the character 
of Atticus Finch was voted the greatest movie hero of all time. It won 
Gregory Peck the Oscar. He was said to believe the role ``brought him 
closest to being the kind of man he aspired to be.'' The great actor 
counted Harper Lee among his good friends, and we're so pleased that 
Gregory Peck's wife, Veronique, is with us today. Thank you for coming.
    One reason ``To Kill a Mockingbird'' succeeded is the wise and kind 
heart of the author, which comes through on every page. This daughter of 
Monroeville, Alabama, had something to say about honor and tolerance 
and, most of all, love--and it still resonates. Last year, Harper Lee 
received an honorary doctorate at Notre Dame. As the degree was 
presented, the graduating class rose as one, held up copies of her book, 
and cheered for the author they love.
    ``To Kill a Mockingbird'' has influenced the character of our 
country for the better. It's been a gift to the entire world. As a model 
of good writing and humane sensibility, this book will be read and 
studied forever. And so all of us are filled with admiration for a great 
American and a lovely lady named Harper Lee.
    Bob Hyde is here on behalf of his dad, the Honorable Henry J. Hyde, 
who was not able to be with us today. Congressman Hyde spent more than 
three decades as a towering figure on Capitol Hill. But he first made 
his name in Washington more than 60 years ago. He was on the Georgetown 
basketball team and played in the NCAA eastern championship game in 
1943. After college and Navy service in World War II, he returned home 
to Illinois and earned a law degree and made his way into politics. This 
erudite, scholarly man has walked with kings and kept the common touch. 
He won 20 elections and gave steady service to the people of Illinois 
for 40 years.
    In the House, Congressman Hyde rose to the chairmanship of two 
committees: Judiciary and International Relations. And from the first 
day, he was a commanding presence, and he was a man of consequence. 
Colleagues were struck by his extraordinary intellect, his deep 
convictions, and eloquent voice. In committee and in the House Chamber, 
the background noise would stop when Henry Hyde had the floor.
    He used his persuasive powers for noble causes. He stood for a 
strong and purposeful America--confident in freedom's advance and firm 
in freedom's defense. He stood for limited, accountable Government and 
the equality of every person before the law. He was a gallant champion 
of the weak and forgotten and a fearless defender of life in all its 
seasons.
    Henry Hyde spoke of controversial matters with intellectual honesty 
and without rancor. He proved that a man can have firm convictions and 
be a favorite of Democrats and Republicans alike.
    Henry likes quoting the adage, ``Make new friends, but keep the old; 
one is silver, but the other is gold.'' To so many on Capitol Hill, 
Henry Hyde's friendship is gold. They're quick to say it's not the same 
Congress without him, but that we're a better country because he was 
there. And colleagues will always admire and look up to the gentleman 
from Illinois, Henry J. Hyde. And, Bob, please tell your dad a lot of us 
in Washington love him.
    For nearly 30 years, the proceedings of the House of Representatives 
have been televised--unfiltered, uninterrupted, unedited, and live. For 
this, we can thank the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, or C-
SPAN. And for C-SPAN, we can thank a visionary American named Brian 
Lamb.
    C-SPAN is not what you'd call exciting TV; though some of the call-
in shows do have their moments. [Laughter] It is, however, a tool that 
enlivens democracy and informs and educates citizens of all ages, at all 
hours.
    C-SPAN channels fill 17,000 broadcast hours a year. But you can 
watch for years and never hear anyone say the name Brian Lamb. Even 
Brian never says it.
    With his low-key manner, this native of Lafayette, Indiana, likes to 
stick with substance. He's not there to provide commentary or give much 
reaction either way. Yet vast numbers of Americans consider themselves 
fans

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of Brian Lamb. A writer from the Washington Post called it a ``cult of 
nonpersonality.'' [Laughter] The truth is, we've all seen him, and he's 
conducted some of the most fascinating interviews we have ever heard. As 
one C-SPAN watcher said, when you listen to Brian ``you feel like he's 
just like you, only smarter.'' [Laughter]
    Brian Lamb has spent most of his life in broadcasting, in a career 
that has taken many turns. The first program he ever hosted, back in the 
Midwest, was called ``Dance Date''--a side we haven't seen much of. 
[Laughter] Brian Lamb is a Navy veteran, a former social aide here at 
the White House. In fact, when Brian was here a few months ago to 
interview a historian in the Lincoln Bedroom, the maitre d' of the 
residential staff of the White House remembered him from those days.
    The network Brian Lamb created has been called ``scrupulously 
nonpartisan'' and ``inherently patient.'' Committee hearings and 
campaign events and conferences and rallies are shown from beginning to 
end, without editorial comment or interpretation. C-SPAN has no agenda 
and only one assumption: that interested viewers are intelligent and can 
make up their own minds about what they see and what they hear.
    An informed citizenry has been the strength of America since the 
days of the New England townhall. C-SPAN has revived the townhall spirit 
for a modern, continental nation. For his enormous achievement and his 
personal modesty, for his high standards and his contribution to our 
democracy, America is grateful to Mr. Brian Lamb.
    Now I call on the military aide to read the citations for the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom.

[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. Laura and I now invite you 
to a reception here in the State Dining Room. I hope you've enjoyed this 
ceremony as much as I have. May God bless you all. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 10:01 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to President Fidel Castro Ruz of 
Cuba; former President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic; former 
President Nelson Mandela of South Africa; and Prime Minister Nuri al-
Maliki of Iraq.