THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, Thank you very much. Mr.
President, General Pace, Mr. Secretary, Joyce and the Rumsfeld family,
my fellow citizens:
In a moment I'll have the high honor of presenting our
Commander-in-Chief. But first, I hope you'll permit me a few personal
observations as we gather in tribute to the nation's 21st Secretary of
Defense.
It is well known that Don Rumsfeld and I are longtime friends and
associates. And our experiences in Washington have been very similar.
We've both served as members of Congress. Both of us have been Secretary
of Defense. Both of us have been White House Chief of Staff. But there's
one instructive experience I've had that he hasn't: I know what it's
like to work for Don Rumsfeld. (Laughter and applause.)
I don't think it's revealing classified information to point out that
Don has an intensity about him. He's often told the story of an
acquaintance who asked Joyce how she managed to put up with a guy like
him for so many years. Joyce replied, "He travels a lot." (Laughter.)
My association with Don goes back to the spring of 1969. I was a
graduate student, pursuing a Ph.D., when Don asked me to join his staff.
From the first day, he kept me busy enough to forget all about that
dissertation I'd been working on and active enough to drop any notion of
returning to academia.
Don was the toughest boss I had ever had -- the most demanding, and
the most commanding. If you've been on his staff, you know that Don has
an incredibly sharp eye for detail. He has near-perfect recall of
everything he's told you, and everything you've told him. He has a way
of asking you the one question you're not prepared for. And apparently
he does not sleep. (Laughter.)
Yet as much as he might push you, Don never demands more of others
than he does of himself. I've never worked harder for a boss -- and I've
never learned more from one, either. Don is a superb executive who knows
how to cut through to an issue at once. He embodies the adage that a
statesman should act as a man of thought, and think as a man of action.
"Set careful goals," he says, "then do the best job possible, let the
flak pass and work toward those goals." He never forgets that we're here
not to accumulate titles and honors but to do our jobs. "Public
servants," he said, "are paid to serve the American people. Do it well."
To his very core Don is a man of rectitude, with a sense of honor that
defines him, and a sense of fairness and perspective that has never
failed him.
For these reasons and more, I have always considered Don Rumsfeld to
be the very ideal of a public servant. And thus, those of us who know
Don are extremely fortunate to have his friendship, and all that goes
with it -- the wisdom, the humor, and the great personal decency of the
man. In a lifetime one meets only a few people of such caliber and
character. And so my first association with Don Rumsfeld was one of
life's great turning points, both professionally and personally. On the
professional side: I would not be where I am today, but for the
confidence that Don first placed in me those many years ago. And on the
personal side: It's enough to say that I have no better friend, and ask
for none.
Throughout this country and especially within the military, you'll
find people who have never met Don Rumsfeld, but who look up to him as a
role model. Even to the casual observer, this man emanates loyalty,
integrity, and above all love for this country and a devotion to its
cause. The record of the years 2001 to 2006 only confirms the good
qualities and the gift for leadership that Don Rumsfeld has shown all
his life.
The attacks of September 11th, 2001 found Don Rumsfeld at his post,
and then sprinting to the rescue. Under his leadership, even as this
great building burned, the men and women of the Pentagon moved
immediately to protect the country, and to prepare the response to acts
of war. When the Commander-in-Chief gave his orders, the Department of
Defense was ready. And today, even after more than five years of
unrelenting action, this Department continues to wage the war on terror
systematically and decisively.
Under Secretary Rumsfeld, we have struck major blows against the al
Qaeda network that hit America. We've removed two dictatorships that
sponsored terror; liberated 50 million people from tyranny; and stood by
young democracies as America always does.
The work goes on, because the set of challenges that arrived on 9/11
is unlike any this nation has ever faced. In the depth of their hatred,
the technologies they seek, and the ambitions they have announced, these
enemies threaten civilization itself. They are hidden, dispersed,
asymmetrical in their methods, and unconstrained by the laws of warfare
or the rules of morality. Unlike other conflicts, this war is not a
matter of finding an opposing army and engaging it, or finding a navy
and sinking it. There's no manual for how to wage this fight, and not
even much guidance from military history. Yet the stakes are as high as
can be imagined, and the margin for error is exceedingly small.
Our former boss, President Gerald Ford, said recently that holding
the office of Secretary of Defense in times like these requires a
certain amount of steel. Don Rumsfeld has that steel in him. As one
general recently said, Don is a man who "leads from the front," and
that's something our people in uniform relate to, and appreciate. It's
no surprise to me when I see images of uniformed men and women crowding
around Secretary Rumsfeld, welcoming him to bases from middle America to
the desert in Iraq, and cheering their hearts out for him at the
Army-Navy game. Don respects them and cares for them as much as he does
for the nation itself. They soldier for him; he soldiers for them. They
know it, they feel it, and that's why they'll miss him. In his regard
for our people in uniform; in his unwavering strength through
unprecedented challenges; in his example of leadership and patriotic
service -- I believe the record speaks for itself: Don Rumsfeld is the
finest Secretary of Defense this nation has ever had. (Applause.)
In this hour of transition, every member of our military, and every
person at the Pentagon, can be certain that America will stay on the
offensive in the war on terror. The President of the United States and
his national security team understand the threat -- the enemy's changing
tactics and its unchanging nature. We're not dealing with adversaries
that will surrender or come to their senses. They hit us first. They hit
us right here on this ground at this building. And as the President has
assured the American people, we will stay in the fight until this threat
is defeated, and our children and grandchildren can live in a safer
world. (Applause.)
As we go forward, the people defending this country can be confident:
Our President is committed to closing every window of vulnerability, and
to giving our troops the training and support they need to carry out the
missions and to achieve victory. The years of President George W. Bush
have been a time of purpose and pride for the United States Armed
Forces. And so I count it a privilege, here at the Pentagon, to turn the
proceedings over to our Commander-in-Chief. Ladies and gentlemen, I give
you the President of the United States. |