I can't believe that this announcement has been made, or that it's going to go down very well here in Texas.
The George Bush Presidential Library Foundation today announced that United States Senator Edward M. Kennedy would receive the 2003 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service at a dinner ceremony held at the Bush Library Center on the Texas A&M campus on November 7. Former President Bush will present the award to the Massachusetts Democrat, who will join former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl as Bush Award recipients. The award will be presented in a ceremony at the Library Center following a 5 p.m. address by the Senator at Rudder Auditorium.
They made this decision despite Kennedy's recklessly bitter and untrue statements about our current President and the war in Iraq:
There was no imminent threat. This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud.
This is what the Foundation says the award is meant to accomplish:
The George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service recognizes an individual's or group's dedication to public service at the local, state, national or international levels. The award underscores President Bush's long service and commitment to public service. In 1997, President Bush confirmed this commitment when he said "Public Service is a noble calling and we need men and women of character to believe that they can make a difference in their communities, in their states and in their country."It was with this in mind that the Board of Directors of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation instituted this award. The outstanding performance and contribution of the recipient not only serve to highlight their achievements and President Bush's legacy, but also serve as an incentive to us all to take on the challenges of service to others.
How an award to liberal dinosaur Ted Kennedy honors "President Bush's legacy" is beyond me. If one were inclined to express an opinion about this oddity, the Foundation web site lists the following contact information:
George Bush Presidential
Library Foundation
Texas A&M University
1145 TAMU
College Station, Texas 77843-1145
(979) 862-2251
(979) 862-2253 (FAX)
bushfoundation@gbplc.tamu.edu