Bill Clinton: “Thank you very much. Thank you, Alan. And I want to thank the Lung Association, the Heart Association, the Cancer…”

“Thank you very much. Thank you, Alan. And I want to thank the Lung Association, the Heart Association, the Cancer Society, all the physicians who are here today with the various medical groups. Dr. Bristow, it's good to see you. And I thank all of you for being here. I thank Secretary Shalala and Commissioner Kessler and CDC Director David Satcher for their leadership. I want to thank someone who is not here but who had a lot to do with this effort--I thank the Vice President, who lost his own beloved sister to lung cancer, for his strength and leadership in this endeavor. Normally, I don't think the people of America should give the President an award for anything, because the President's job is award enough. It is an uncommon gift with a great responsibility. But to tell you the truth, I'm kind of tickled about this today, because I admired, indeed I loved, Mike Synar very much. He was a good man and a brave man who gave the rest of us a great deal of energy and hope and direction. And our country could do with a few more like him, people that just rear back and stand up and do the right thing. And if it doesn't work out, they just laugh and go on and don't expect any kind of a blue ribbon or award at the end of the day.…”