    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 23 (Monday, June 16, 2008)]
    [Page 802]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Statement on the Death of
    Jim McKay

    June 7, 2008

        Laura and I were saddened to learn of the passing of Jim McKay. For
    a generation of Americans, Jim was more than the much-honored host of
    ``Wide World of Sports'' and ABC's Olympic coverage. He was a talented
    and eloquent newsman and storyteller whose special gift was his ability
    to make the viewers at home genuinely care about more than just who won
    or lost.
        Jim was at his best during what had to be his most difficult
    assignment, hosting with skill and sensitivity ABC's blanket coverage of
    the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis.
        Off camera, he was a compassionate and generous person and devoted
    family man.
        We are also grateful for Jim's service to his country as a naval
    officer aboard a minesweeper during World War II.
        Our thoughts and prayers are with Jim's wife, Margaret, his
    children, Sean and Mary, and all of his family and friends.