President Bush accepts a bust of Sir Winston Churchill from ambassador of England, Sir Christopher Meyer July 16, 2001. "He was a man of great courage. He knew what he believed. And he really kind of went after it in a way that seemed like a Texan to me," said the President explaining why he would like the likeness of an Englishman placed inside the Oval Offfice. "He charged ahead, and the world is better for it.". White House photo by Paul Morse.
Remarks by the President in Acceptance of Bust of Winston Churchill
The Oval Office
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mr. Ambassador.
I think I casually mentioned to the Ambassador, right after my swearing-in, that I lamented the fact that there was not a proper bust of Winston Churchill for me to put in the Oval Office. He's a man of great action, because here sits a bust on loan from Her Majesty's government, that I accept gratefully; and will place right here, where the flowers are, beneath one of my favorite West Texas paintings. I accept gratefully and I look forward to looking at Sir Winston on a daily basis.
People said, why would you be interested in having the bust of an Englishman in your Oval Office. And the answer is because he was one of the great leaders in the 20th century. He was an enormous personality. He stood on principle. He was a man of great courage. He knew what he believed. And he really kind of went after it in a way that seemed like a Texan to me: he wasn't afraid of public opinion polls; he wasn't afraid of -- he didn't need focus groups to tell him what was right. He charged ahead, and the world is better for it.
He also had a great sense of humor. There have been a lot of Churchill stories, some of which you can repeat on TV, some of which you can't, Mr. Ambassador. One that came to mind was after he lost office in the election in 1945, King George VI offered him the Order of the Garter. And here is what he said. "I could hardly accept His Majesty's offer of the Garter, when his people have given me the order of the boot." (Laughter.)
Churchill reminds me of two things -- one, we need more humor in the public arena. He had a great wit. He had a fantastic way of making people smile and laugh. And secondly, he reminds me of the importance of our relationship, the relationship between Great Britain and America.
President Bush drapes the Congressional Medal of Honor on Ed Freeman of Boise, Idaho, in the East Room at the White House Monday, July 16, 2001. Mr. Freeman was awarded the honor for his actions in 1965 when, as a helicopter pilot during, he flew through gunfire more than 20 times during a single, ferocious battle, bringing supplies to a trapped batallion and flying more than 70 wounded soldiers to safety. White House photo by Paul Morse.
