A tasty presidential perk: medals of freedom

National Review, Dec 17, 2007 by Jay Nordlinger

JUST as it's good to be king, it's good to be president. The perks are many: and not just Air Force One, the White House pastry chef, and the Marine Band. (The president used to have a yacht--the Sequoia--but Jimmy Carter sold that, in a display of non-ostentatiousness.) The president has the privilege of awarding Medals of Freedom--Presidential Medals of Freedom, they're called. This must be one of the most rewarding parts of the job. And a president's choices reveal a fair amount about the man.

In the first week of November, President Bush completed another round of Medals of Freedom. Among his choices was Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet--who was not able to receive his medal in person. He is in a Cuban prison, and long has been. Biscet is one of the bravest and most inspiring of the Cuban political prisoners. He does not get much attention in the world press. But George W. Bush knows who he is: and he sent a message that was, indeed, heard. It lifted Cubans, at home and in exile, and irritated the Cuban dictatorship.

It also irritated National Public Radio--America's own--which was incredibly sniffy toward this medal for Biscet. NPR gave the impression of considering Bush's action rude--even illegitimate. Among the sniffy remarks: "The dissident's views are ... closely aligned with the Bush administration's position--which is not the criteria [sic] for being recognized."

Ignoring NPR's respect for English, what about its respect for facts? In fact, the president can give the Medal of Freedom to whomever he wishes, for whatever reason he wishes. The medal was established in 1945 by President Truman, who wanted a way to honor the contributions of American civilians in World War II. (The Congressional Medal of Honor took care of military heroes.) Some 20 years later, President Kennedy revised and expanded the medal: to give it to those who have made contributions "in all forms of endeavor that are touched with the public interests."

The criteria are very broad. The president can give it to foreigners, and he can give it to the deceased. An individual can receive more than one Medal of Freedom--Ellsworth Bunker and Colin Powell have received two. Theoretically, the president can give it to his pet teacher, or his pet beagle. The Medal of Freedom--America's highest civilian honor--is entirely in the president's gift, as the British would say.

Speaking of the British: Some of us have long been queasy about Presidential Medals of Freedom, because they smack of an honors list (whereby you get "Sir Fred" and so on). They are an honors list. And that is not very republican--baubles from the government, official imprimaturs, a roll of Best People. On the same grounds, we object to America's having a "poet laureate" --an official poet--which it has since 1985. That is truly shudder-making. But as long as we're going to have these Medals of Freedom, we want our guys--our favorites--to get them, naturally.

President Kennedy never got to award his medals--that is, never got to do so in person. He announced his choices on the Fourth of July 1963, but the ceremony was not to take place until December 6. Lyndon Johnson made the awards in JFK's stead--and awarded one of his own to the fallen president. Among Kennedy's choices were weighty men of government: McCloy, Frankfurter, Lovett. But he also included a clutch of musicians: Marian Anderson, Pablo Casals, Rudolf Serkin. And a clutch of writers: E. B. White, Edmund Wilson, Thornton Wilder.

All this is immediately recognizable as Kennedyesque.

In later years, LBJ made many sensible awards--you might call them consensus awards--including ones to Helen Keller and Walt Disney, who, in official documents, is called "Walter Disney," which is like saying "John Carson."

Neil Armstrong walked on the moon on July 20, 1969; three weeks later, President Nixon hung a Medal of Freedom around his neck. I also note that, the next year, he conferred the medal on Maestro Eugene Ormandy. The story is told--I can't confirm--that two members of his Philadelphia Orchestra once refused to stand for the national anthem, in protest of the Vietnam War. Ormandy was minded to fire them, but was dissuaded. (A Jew from Hungary, Ormandy was not averse to fighting dictatorships.) (And, where orchestras were concerned, he favored benevolent ones.)

Gerald Ford had a brief presidency, of course, but he got in a decent number of medals. He did Arthur Rubinstein, Jesse Owens, and Martha Graham. And, on his way out the door--January 1977--he did Irving Berlin, Omar Bradley, Joe DiMaggio, and the Durants, among others. Those others included Lady Bird Johnson, a gracious choice. And they also included his secretaries of state and defense: Kissinger and Rumsfeld. (Separate ceremonies, for those two rivals.)

President Carter gave the medal to some liberal lions: Roger Baldwin, Rachel Carson, Arthur Goldberg, Margaret Mead. He also honored some southern writers--e.g., Eudora Welty--and his military mentor, Hyman Rickover. And, on his way out the door--January 1981--he decorated just about his entire team: Brown, Zbig, Muskie, Warren Christopher, Andy Young, Bob Strauss. Also Walter Cronkite.