George H.W. Bush: “July 22, 1992 Welcome, everybody. Sorry for holding you up for a few minutes here. Welcome to the White House. May I…”

“July 22, 1992 Welcome, everybody. Sorry for holding you up for a few minutes here. Welcome to the White House. May I salute Dr. Radice. I don't see Lamar. He was to be here, Lamar Alexander, our Secretary of Education. I think I just left him, and he'll be along. Dr. Lynne Cheney, Members of the Congress, and so many distinguished guests, welcome. Barbara and I are both delighted to be here and proud to be part of an America which values arts as well as business or science or politics. President Kennedy expressed so well the importance of this ideal when he said, ``Roosevelt and Lincoln understood that the life of the arts is very close to the center of a nation's purpose and is a test of the quality of a nation's civilization.'' Well, we're here today to pay tribute to some extraordinary men and women, men and women of genius and passion who enrich that quality of life in our America. ``Made in U.S.A.'' has a new meaning today, for almost all these artists were born in small American towns, trained here in their own country, then turned this uniquely American vision to a wide range of artistic fields. Because of their vision, today we celebrate the sheer and priceless pleasure of being American. For some, being American means being born into a certain regional tradition with the talent to preserve that legacy and carry it to a wider audience.…”