George H.W. Bush: “Awards June 19, 1991 Welcome. Good to see all of you. Welcome. Well, please be seated. It's a delight to have you all…”

“Awards June 19, 1991 Welcome. Good to see all of you. Welcome. Well, please be seated. It's a delight to have you all here at the White House. May I salute the Chairman, my old friend John Engler, who also doubles as the Governor from Michigan, an awesome assignment, but has found time like all of our committee to give to this worthwhile program. And I'm very grateful to you, John. And then, of course, on my right here, Secretary Lamar Alexander, our new Secretary of Education, a former Governor who's really bringing a new drive and a new focus on our program, America 2000, which I think has a real shot now at revolutionizing education in this country. And we need it. We need to start from scratch and take a new look. So, I salute both of them. I particularly want to thank the members of the Commission and the corporate sponsors, and all of you, thank you for coming. Welcome to the White House and to an event that bestows the highest scholastic honor that a President can bestow. First, I want to say that there's absolutely no rule here that says that the person giving the speech has to be as smart as the students receiving the scholarships. [Laughter] Thank heavens. [Laughter] Which reminds me of what George Burns once said: ``Smartness runs in my family.…”