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CNN Live Event/Special
Presidential Medal of Freedom Presentation
Aired July 09, 2002 - 15:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Arthel, thank you. We're going to take you live to the East Room of the White House now where you will see the president of the United States getting ready to give 12 special individuals "The Presidential Medal of Freedom". Let's listen in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The secretary...
(APPLAUSE)
Secretary Powell has won the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice, once with distinction. I'm not sure what happened the other time.
(LAUGHTER)
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civil honor our nation can bestow, and we award it today to 12 outstanding individuals. The men and women we honor span the spectrum of achievement. Some are fighters. Others are healers. All have left an enduring legacy of hope and courage and achievement.
Hank Aaron overcame poverty and racism to become one of the most accomplished baseball players of all time. "When I was in the ballpark," he said, "I felt like I was surrounded by angels and I had God's hand on my shoulder." By steadily pursuing his calling in the face of unreasoning hatred, Hank Aaron has proven himself a great human being, as well as a great athlete.
Bill Cosby is a gifted comedian who has used the power of laughter to heal wounds and to build bridges. "I don't think you can bring the races together by joking about the differences between them," he said. "I'd rather talk about the similarities, about what's universal in their experiences." By focusing on our common humanity, Bill Cosby is helping to create a truly united America.
Placido Domingo has performed in more roles than other tenor in the history of opera. His boundless admiration for the composers of the great operatic music makes him push himself to the limit. "They spend years creating operas," Placido has said. "Lots of suffering and lots of sweating." Well, by suffering and sweating himself, Placido Domingo is making sure that the great music of the past will continue to delight opera lovers the world over.
The week after September the 11th, Peter Drucker sent a letter to his friends and associates urging them not to abandon daily life in civil society. "That's exactly what the terrorists want," he said. Peter Drucker has devoted his life to strengthening civil society. His determination to help our non-profit and faith-based institutions carry out their desperately needed missions more effectively has made him one of the greatest management experts of our time.
Katherine Graham was a forceful, courageous and deeply-principled newspaper publisher. She described herself as someone who suffered from a sense of inferiority, but who was forced to become a leader after her husband's death. "What I essentially did," she wrote,"was to put one foot in front of the other, shut my eyes and step off the edge." Under her brilliance guidance The Washington Post has become one of America's most powerful newspapers. Katherine Graham will always be remembered for her determined pursuit of journalistic excellence.
DA Henderson is a great general in mankind's war against disease. From 1966 to 1977, he lead the World Health Organization's Global Smallpox Eradication Campaign. Today he is helping to protect America from the thread of bioterrorism. "We need to plan, not panic," says this master medical planner.
Our nation is fortunate to be able to draw on DA Henderson's great store of wisdom and experience, as we work to lift the dark thread of terrorism from the nation and our world.
Irving Kristol is a wide-ranging thinker whose writings have helped to transform America's political landscape. As young men, he and his fellow student radicals in City College's Alcove Number One (ph) devoted themselves to solving the ultimate problems of the human race.
Today, Irving Kristol is still grappling with ultimate problems. And in thinking them through, he has vastly enlarged the conservative vision.
Shortly after he arrived on South African's Robin Island to begin serving his prison sentence for resisting apartheid, Nelson Mandela refused an order to jog from the harbor to the prison gate. When a prison warden threatened to kill him, here's what he said: "If you so much as lay a hand on me, I will take you to the highest court in the land. And when I finish with you, you'll be as poor as a church mouse."
(LAUGHTER)
The warden backed off, and so eventually did other more powerful representatives of apartheid; all of whom were humbled by Mandela's immense moral authority. It is this moral stature that has made Nelson Mandela perhaps the most revered statesman of our time.
Gordon Moore is a great business man and innovator. His interest in science was sparked by a chemistry set when he was a boy. "With the chemistry set," he recalls, "I had to get a good explosion at the end or I wasn't happy."
(LAUGHTER)
In the worlds of business, science and philanthropy, Gordon Moore has been setting off explosives ever since. And the ripple effects of his explosive genius have helped create our age of information.
Nancy Reagan has devoted herself to her family and her country. As first lady of California, she spoke out eloquently on behalf of POWs and American service men missing in action. As first lady of the United States, she led an anti-drug campaign that helped reduce teenage drug abuse. Today, we honor Nancy Reagan for her eloquent example of loyalty and courage and abiding love.
Fred Rogers has proven that television can soothe the soul and nurture the spirit and teach the very young. "The whole idea," says the beloved host of 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood,' "is to look at the television camera and present as much love as you possibly could to a person who needs it." This message of unconditional love has won Fred Rogers a very special place in the heart of a lot of moms and dads all across America.
A.M. Rosenthal's calling is journalism. His passion is human rights. "When I come out for human rights," he says, "I'm not talking in the abstract. I know that if I lived in a dictatorship, I would be in jail very quickly."
A.M. Rosenthal's outspoken defense of persecuted Christians in Asia, Africa and the Middle East have truly made him his brother's keeper.
Each of these men and women has enriched the life of America and the world and we're honored to have them with us here today.
And now the military will call each of the winners forward and read their citations.
(AWARDS ARE PRESENTED)
Again, I want to thank you all for coming to honor such remarkable men and women.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom, established by President Kennedy in 1963, recognizes individuals...
PHILLIPS: There you have it, 12 truly outstanding Americans. The president of the United States handing out America's highest civilian award. The White House there in the East Room, 12 Americans receiving "The Presidential Medal of Freedom".
Each one of those individuals somehow contributed to the security or national interest of the United States, to world peace or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
We're going to take a quick break. TALKBACK LIVE continues right after this.
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