Bill Clinton: “Thank you very much, Congressman Jefferson, for chairing this dinner and for being my longtime friend. He has such a…”

“Thank you very much, Congressman Jefferson, for chairing this dinner and for being my longtime friend. He has such a nice name: William Jefferson. [Laughter] One day we were on a platform together in Louisiana, and we both kind of got to ventilating, and he said after I spoke, ``It's a good thing you've got a last name or no one could tell us apart.'' [Laughter] Congressman Payne, the CBC chair; Cardiss Collins, the foundation chair; to all the distinguished awardees, General Powell, Congressman Lewis, Muhammad Ali, Congressman Ford, Renee Gaters, all very deserving; Ms. Gaters for your charity and your generosity over so many years; my longtime friend John Lewis for being a living reminder of what it means to live by what you say you believe; my friend Congressman Ford, who was working on welfare reform before the other crowd knew what it was. I thank you, sir. Of course, one of your recipients has been on the front page of every magazine in this country, deluged with TV and radio requests, written a book, and has a name and face in- stantly recognized all around the world. I'm honored to share the spotlight tonight with Muhammad Ali and with General Colin Powell. [Applause] Thank you.…”