[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 46 (Monday, November 19, 2007)]
[Pages 1503-1504]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Presenting the National Medal of Arts and National Humanities 
Medal

November 15, 2007

    The President. Thank you all. Good morning. Laura and I welcome you 
to the East Room for a joyous event, the presentation of two sets of 
important awards: the National Medals of the Arts and the National

[[Page 1504]]

Humanities Medals. These medals recognize great contributions to art, 
music, theater, writing, history, and general scholarship.
    We congratulate the medalists. We welcome your families. We thank 
your loved ones for supporting you. And on behalf of a grateful nation, 
we honor your great talent and accomplishments.
    Obviously, I'm pleased to be here with my wife. [Laughter] I am 
proud to be here with Mrs. Lynne Cheney as well. I thank the Members of 
the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives 
for joining us as we honor our fellow citizens. I'm so pleased to 
welcome Dana Gioia, Chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts, and 
Dr. Bruce Cole, Chairman of the National Endowment of the Humanities. 
Thank you all for coming, and thank you for your leadership. I'm proud 
that a fellow Texan, Adair Margo--is the Chairman of the President's 
Committee on the Arts and Humanities--has joined us.
    Our honorees represent the great strength and diversity of the 
American culture. The winners of the arts include a Native American 
poet, an orchestra conductor, a composer of choral music, a pioneer of 
electric musical instruments, and a man whose last name is synonymous 
with fine American craftsmanship. Our honorees have created some of the 
emblematic images of our time, supported museums and theaters, and 
helped nurture young talent.
    The winners of the humanities have also made great and lasting 
contributions to our society. They include scholars and historians and a 
philanthropist. These men and women have shaped our understanding of the 
past, chronicled stories of tyranny overcome by liberty, and helped 
preserve our cultural treasures for future generations.
    Your accomplishments will remind us that freedom of thought and 
freedom of expression are two pillars of our democracy. These freedoms 
have helped our Nation build some of the finest centers of learning in 
the world. They've helped inspire new movements in art and literature, 
and they've helped fill our libraries and museums and theaters with 
great works for all our citizens to enjoy.
    America is committed to supporting the arts and humanities. For more 
than four decades, the National Endowment of the Arts and the National 
Endowment for the Humanities has helped enrich our culture and deepened 
our appreciation for the ideals that bind us together as Americans. Some 
interesting programs that are run out of these important institutions, 
like ``We the People'' and ``American Masterpieces,'' that expose a new 
generation of Americans to American history and literature and art. And 
Laura and I strongly support these programs.
    It is now my privilege to present the National Medals of Art and the 
National Humanities Medals. Once again, I congratulate our honorees 
because in your work, we see the creativity of the American spirit and 
the values that have made our Nation great.
    And so now I ask the military aide to read the citations.

[At this point, Lt. Cmdr. Dan Walsh, USCG, Coast Guard Aide to the 
President, read the citations, and the President presented the medals.]

    The President. My wife.

Note: The President spoke at 10:03 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice 
President Dick Cheney. The transcript released by the Office of the 
Press Secretary also included the remarks of the First Lady.