Administration of William J. Clinton, 1999 / Aug. 9 Remarks at a Ceremony Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter in Atlanta August 9, 1999 President and Mrs. Carter, members of the emplary in every way, who reach a higher pla- Carter family, including grandchild number 10, teau of achievement.’’ Hugo, who’s right outside—[laughter]—mem- It is in that spirit that we look back on two bers of the Cabinet who are here, friends of extraordinary lives today. In the past, this award the Carters, Mr. Mayor, let me say to all of has been presented to people who have helped you what a great pleasure it is for me to be America promote freedom by fighting for human here today. I flew down on Air Force One today rights or righting social wrongs or empowering with a number of former Carter administration others to achieve or extending peace around the members who, many of them, are in our admin- world. But rarely do we honor two people who istration, many others are mutual friends; and have devoted themselves so effectively to ad- we relived old stories. vancing freedom in all those ways. Jimmy and I remember in 1974, Governor Jimmy Carter Rosalynn Carter have done more good things had a role in the Democratic Party, and he for more people in more places than any other was trying to help us all win elections. And couple on the face of the Earth. I was running for Congress, and he sent Jody To be sure, there have been other Presidents Powell to northwest Arkansas to help me. I who have continued to contribute to the public should have known something was up. [Laugh- good once they left office: Thomas Jefferson ter] Thank goodness he failed, and I lost that founded the University of Virginia; John Quincy election. [Laughter] Adams returned to Congress for eight terms and In 1975, Jimmy Carter came to Arkansas to fought slavery; William Howard Taft became Chief Justice. give a speech, met with me and my wife and But the work President Carter has done others, and we signed on. In 1976, my home through this extraordinary Carter Center to im- State was the only State besides Georgia where prove our Nation and our world is truly unparal- President Carter got more than 65 percent of leled in our Nation’s history. We’ve all gotten the vote. So it’s a great personal honor for me used to seeing pictures of President Carter to be here today. building homes for people through Habitat for Over the past several years, the President and Humanity. But the full story lies in pictures Mrs. Carter have received many awards, all of we don’t see, of the 115 countries he’s visited them well-deserved. Rosalynn has received more since leaving office, to end hunger and disease than a dozen just from children’s organizations and to spread the cause of peace; by the more alone. President Carter has been knighted in than 20 elections he’s helped to monitor, where Mali, made an honorary tribal chief in Nigeria democracy is taking root, thanks in part to his and Ghana. There are at least three families efforts; of the millions in Africa who are living in Africa he’s met who have named their new- better lives thanks to his work to eradicate dis- born child Jimmy Carter. [Laughter] eases like Guinea worm and river blindness; of Now these are hard acts to follow. [Laughter] the dozens of political prisoners who have been But today, it is my privilege, on behalf of a released, thanks in part to letters he has written grateful nation, to confer America’s highest civil- away from the public spotlight. ian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, I was proud to have his support when we on Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. worked together to bring democracy back to Twenty-two years ago, when presenting this Haiti and to preserve stability on the Korean same award posthumously to Dr. Martin Luther Peninsula. I am grateful for the many detailed, King, President Carter said, ‘‘There are many incisive reports he has sent to me from his trips Americans who do great things, who make us to troubled nations all across the globe, always proud of them and their achievements, and who urging understanding of their problems and inspire us to do better ourselves. But there are their points of view, always outlining practical some among those noble achievers who are ex- steps to progress. 1421 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:26 Sep 06, 2001 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00325 Fmt 1240 Sfmt 1240 C:\TEMP\PAP_TEXT txed01 PsN: txed01 Aug. 9 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1999 To call Jimmy Carter the greatest former tion and our world finally come to grips with President in history, as many have, however, the challenge of climate change. And by hiring does not do justice either to him or to his work. and appointing more women and more minori- For, in a real sense, this Carter Center is not ties than any other administration to that point, a new beginning, but a continuation of the he set a shining example of the one America Carter Presidency. we all long to live in. The work President Carter did in those 4 During the Carter years, Rosalynn Carter also years not only broke important new ground, it brought vision, compassion, tireless energy, and is still playing a large role in shaping the world commitment to the causes she advanced. Just we live in today. One of the proudest moments as Eleanor Roosevelt will be remembered for of my life was the day in 1993 when Yitzhak her work on human rights, Rosalynn Carter will Rabin and Yasser Arafat shook hands on the always be remembered as a pioneer on mental South Lawn of the White House. That day was health and a champion of our children. made possible by the courage of the people For more than 30 years, she has made it of the Middle East and their leaders, but also her mission to erase the stigma surrounding by another handshake 20 years before and the mental health. As First Lady of Georgia, she persistence of President Carter as he brokered used to travel dusty backroads to meet with the Camp David accords. I know it is a great people and volunteered her time at a State hos- source of pride for him that, 21 years later, pital. She took what she learned to the White not a word of that agreement has been violated. House, where she chaired the President’s Com- If you talk to any elected leader in Latin mission on Mental Health with style and grace. America today, they will tell you that the stand Afterwards, she initiated the Rosalynn Carter President Carter took for democracy and human Symposium on Mental Health Policy and has rights put America on the right side of history worked to promote action on mental health in our hemisphere. He was the first President worldwide. to put America’s commitment to human rights We have made some progress in the last few squarely at the heart of our foreign policy. years in extending health coverage and health Today, more than half the world’s people live insurance policies to mental health conditions, in freedom, not least because he had the faith thanks in large measure to Tipper Gore’s efforts, to lend America’s support to brave dissidents and in broadening public understanding and like Sakharov, Havel, and Mandela. And there support for further action. It would not have were thousands of less well-known political pris- happened if Rosalynn Carter hadn’t done what oners languishing in jails in the 1970’s who were she did first. Thanks to her work, I believe sustained by a smuggled news clipping of Presi- we will see the day not too long away when dent Carter championing their cause. His role mental illnesses are treated just like any other in saving the life of the present President of illnesses and covered just like any other ill- South Korea, President Kim, is well known. nesses. His resolve on SALT II, even though it was We also owe her our gratitude for her efforts never ratified, helped to constrain the arms race to ensure that all our children are immunized. for a full decade and laid the groundwork for Two decades ago, she helped America see that the dramatic reductions in nuclear weaponry we while many vaccines were being discovered, too have seen today. By normalizing relations with few children were being vaccinated. She traveled China, he began a dialog which holds the prom- across our country and became so recognized ise of avoiding a new era of conflict and contain- as a leader on immunization that people used ment and, instead, building a future of coopera- to joke that every time she showed up, the kids tion with the world’s most populous nation. would start to cry, because they knew somebody Here at home, his work on deregulation was going to get a shot. [Laughter] helped free up competitive forces that continue Her work inspired President Carter to launch to strengthen our economy today. His work on a nationwide campaign to immunize all children conservation, particularly the Alaska Lands Act, by the time they enter school, an effort we accelerated a process that has created the clean- have built on. I can tell you that in the last est air and water in a generation.