- One of the great joys
of being Secretary of State
is getting to host
the annual Kennedy Center Honors
here in this beautiful
Ben Franklin State Dining Room as we call it.
We hold hundreds of
official events here every year.
And it is in this room
that we receive foreign ministers
and heads of state.
You might be amused to know
that when I greet people here and talk to them,
I always say that the Kennedy Center Honors
is one of the most prestigious
and fascinating events that we have here.
And you should hear the "oohs" and the "ahs."
(audience laughs)
When I say to them
Elizabeth Taylor was over there,
(audience laughs)
and James Brown was over there.
(audience laughs)
It's a wonderful room
and we swear in all of our new
ambassadors in this room,
and we do it not just to send them off in style,
but these surroundings show
President Bush's newest ambassadors
that they continue a long tradition
of service to the nation,
marching all the way back
to America's first ambassador,
America's first envoy,
who was Benjamin Franklin.
As glorious as this room is
and especially as glorious as it is tonight,
it is never more beautiful to me
as it is on a Friday afternoon
every now and again
when I swear in our new junior officers
to the foreign service.
I'll have these wonderful young people
arrayed in chairs before me
and here in this room
we connect the founding fathers
and what they stood for
to the newest carriers of the nation's values
as these young people stand before me,
raise their right hands
and solemnly take that same timeless oath,
"I solemnly swear to support
and defend the Constitution of the United States."
For me, it's always a moving moment
to receive these youngsters into my care,
into the care of the department.
They're at the beginning of their careers
and the future success of American diplomacy
will depend upon their skill
and their dedication.
And as surely as our men and women in uniform do,
the men and women of American diplomacy
help our country stand tall
on the front lines of freedom.
At the core of so many of the challenges
we face at home and abroad is a loss of hope,
especially among young people,
whether they are in impoverished communities
right here in the United States
or in the Middle East
or in fledgling democracies
that are going through the difficult transitions
or working their way into the developing
and to be developed world.
For a world of hope is a world where thugs
and traffickers and tyrants
and terrorists cannot thrive.
A human heart full of hope
is such a very powerful force for good.
And that brings me to this evening
and to our Honorees,
our very distinguished Kennedy Center Honorees.
Joan Sutherland, Elton John, Warren Beatty,
John Williams, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis,
through your art
you spark minds, you stir hearts,
you touch souls,
and by so doing,
you also help create the stuff of hope,
the stuff that dreams are made of.
And tonight we can be proud that America,
Australia, the United Kingdom
and other free nations across the globe
are working with friends
and former foes to build a world of hope.
On behalf of President and Mrs. Bush,
on behalf of the men and women
of the Department of State
and on behalf of the American people,
I wish to thank Joan Sutherland, Elton John,
Warren Beatty, John Williams, Ossie Davis,
and Ruby Dee for their lifetime contributions
to the performing arts
and for using their God-given gifts
to lift the spirits of men and women
everywhere on earth.
Thank you.
(audience clapping)