For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 8, 2002
President Speaks at Olympic Reception
Remarks by the President at State of Utah Olympic Reception
Rotunda
Utah State Capitol
Salt Lake City, Utah
2:56 P.M. MST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Well, Mike, thank
you very much. That's a powerful introduction. It
must have been the choir. (Laughter.) It's such
an honor to be here. Laura and I have really been looking
forward to this spectacular day. I want to thank Mike for
your efforts, your hard work to show really the very best of America to
the whole world. I want to thank Jackie as well -- Mike and
I both married above ourselves. (Laughter.)
It's an honor to be here with many distinguished citizens of our
country, the Utah congressional delegation, Senator Hatch and Senator
Bennett, thank you both for being here. We had the
opportunity of flying down on Air Force One together. These
two men love Utah a lot.
I want to thank members of the congressional delegation,
Congressmen Matheson, Hanson, and Cannon, thank you all for being here
as well.
I appreciate the Mayor. I also appreciate members of my
Cabinet, Secretary of State Colin Powell, members of one of the finest
teams a President has ever assembled have joined us. Thank
you all for coming. (Applause.)
I want to thank Mitt Romney for being such a strong leader, for
really kind of willing these Games to go forward. I
appreciate Jacques Rogge for being here as well. Thank you,
sir. It's my honor to have welcomed you to the -- one of the
greatest offices on the face of the earth, the Oval
Office. I loved our visit then. Thank you for
coming. Thank you, Sandy, as well.
Kofi, it's great to see you, sir. The Secretary General
of the United Nations who does such a fine job of promoting peace and
the world interests. (Applause.)
I've put together an official delegation to the Olympics, really
fine people -- a few reprobates with
them. (Laughter.) Thank you all for coming.
I'm honored that my sister has joined the delegation as
well. As you know, I love my family a lot, and I love my
little sister. She's my favorite one, even though she's my
only one. (Laughter.)
I want to thank all the citizens who have worked so hard to put
these games on. You know, as I flew into Salt Lake City, I
saw such a majestic part of our country, such a beautiful part of the
American landscape. The state of Utah is the perfect site
for these Games. (Applause.) It's the perfect
site because of her beauty, it's the perfect site because of her
people. It's the perfect site because of the rich history of
this state. From the early native Americans who gave Utah its name, to
the mountain men and later settlers who carved cities and towns into
this rugged landscape.
It was here in Utah that America was connected from east to west by
the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. It
is here today that the world is united in Utah.
It's such an honor to host the Olympics in any year, but it is even
more significant in this year. Following the attacks of
September the 11th, people from around the world expressed their
sympathy and their strong support for our country, and for that we are
grateful. They understand that America stands for a great
cause, and that is freedom. We love, we cherish, and we will
defend freedom at any cost. (Applause.)
This commitment to freedom is inscribed in our nation's founding
documents. The first of those documents, the Declaration of
Independence, is right here in Utah in the state capitol, and will be
available for viewing throughout the games. The Declaration
is here thanks to a program created by Norman Lear. Norman
and I don't always agree on politics, but we agree that the Declaration
of Independence is fundamental to our nation.
And I want to thank Norman Lear for his vision of providing this
document for not only the people of the world to see, but for our
fellow Americans to review when they come to these great Games.
I hope people do come and read the document, because they'll
understand why we're so insistent upon defending our
values. We defend liberty and freedom for everyone, not just
a few, not just people in Utah, but everybody who lives in this country
and everybody who lives around the world. These are rights
we hold self-evident, these are timeless ideals.
People may wonder if they don't understand America, well, why have
we reacted with such determination and patience and
resolve? It's because we believe so strongly in these
ideals, liberty and freedom, and we know it is what will make the world
live in peace if we embrace those ideals without
falter. (Applause.)
And the Olympics give the world a chance, in the midst of a
difficult struggle, to celebrate international peace and
cooperation. America's athletes will compete hard and I know
will make us proud. But at the end of every event, the
competitors will join to honor the winners, no matter their
nationality. And they will stand at attention to honor the
flags of many nations, which will be flying in pride and flying in
peace.
For centuries, the Olympics have reinforced an important
lesson. It's an important lesson for today. No
matter how wide our political or cultural differences may be, some
things are valued and enjoyed the world over. All people
appreciate the discipline that produces excellence; the courage that
overcomes difficult odds; the character that creates
champions. The feelings and emotions that drive the Olympics
are not expressed in any one language, they're expressed with tears and
smiles of joy and of pride.
The world has shed many tears -- tears of sorrow -- over the past
five months. It now gives the people of the United States
and the state of Utah great pride to host these Games, which will
provide lasting memories of laughter and triumph for people of every
nation.
I want to thank you all. Thank you so very much on
behalf of our nation for bringing western hospitality to this global
tradition. May God bless you all and may God bless the
United States of America. (Applause.)
END 3:06
P.M. MST
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