Bill Clinton: “Before we move to the State Dining Room for the reception in honor of our awardees, I'd like to close with a brief note…”

“Before we move to the State Dining Room for the reception in honor of our awardees, I'd like to close with a brief note about the future. Hillary and I and the Vice President, indeed, our entire administration, are going to be working hard in the coming months to help the American people imagine what the 21st century can bring. As of today, that new century is just a little more than 700 days away--which, as you reflect on the remarkable lives we have celebrated today, is not a lot of time. But I went back and checked. It's about the same amount of time that, from 1961 to 1963, an active citizen named King helped James Meredith go to college, stood up to Bull Connor, wrote a letter from a jail in Birmingham, helped to organize the March on Washington, and gave a little speech--his main line was ``I have a dream.'' Not a bad 700 days' work. We must resolve to use our time just as wisely. As we have learned today from the remarkable lives of the people we celebrate, some of whom span nearly this entire century, even a long, long life doesn't take long to live, and passes in the flash of an eye. They have shown us that if we live it well, we can leave this Earth better for our children. Thank you, and God bless you.”