Bill Clinton: “September 23, 1999 Irena, members of the Kirkland family, Father O'Donovan, Monsignor Higgins, distinguished Members of…”

“September 23, 1999 Irena, members of the Kirkland family, Father O'Donovan, Monsignor Higgins, distinguished Members of Congress, visitors from other lands, and my fellow Americans: I am profoundly honored to be here to pay tribute to a person I admired for many years before I ever thought I would have the chance to work with him as President, a man whom I was honored to present the Presidential Medal of Freedom, because he was, in our time, the very embodiment of the cause of freedom, a man who was both brilliant and articulate and still almost irrationally passionate about the things he knew to be right. Back in 1985 Lane Kirkland went home to South Carolina, to the State university, and gave one of the most eloquent speeches on the role of Government ever delivered. Perhaps the most memorable line was his reflection on the terms ``liberal'' and ``conservative.'' If you look at who is here today to pay tribute to Lane, it's a pretty good place for me to start my remarks. He said, ``As one who has been afflicted by both labels, depending on the stance of the afflictor and the foreign or domestic nature of the issue, I doubt their utility in this day and age for anyone except slapdash journalists.'' Not only did Lane reject such labels, we all know that he defied the labels, ``liberal'' and ``conservative.'' In fact, in many ways, he defied all labels. He was a man of remarkable contrasts. You've already heard others speak about his humility.…”