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Home > News & Policies > February 2007

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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 11, 2007

President Bush Attends Ford's Theatre Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration
State Dining Room

Video   Presidential Remarks   Audio   Photos

      Guest List for the Ford's Theatre Celebration Dinner
      Guest List for the Entertainment for Ford's Theatre Dinner
      Menu for the Ford's Theatre Celebration Dinner

7:40 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening, and welcome. Laura and I are delighted to have you here as we celebrate the 198th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. And we're really glad you're here.

We thank Ford's Theatre for helping us honor this great American President. We thank David Herbert Donald and Doris Kearns Goodwin for scholarship that has given us a deeper appreciation of Lincoln's life and purpose. We welcome all the Lincoln scholars who are here.

We are here tonight to remember the life -- the incredible life -- and the great sacrifice of the man who saved our Union. We remember Abraham Lincoln's eloquence, his wisdom, his unshakeable faith in the enduring truth that we're all created equal. He worked to renew the promise of America's founding, and to build a more perfect union for all Americans.

As we approach the bicentennial of President Lincoln's birth, his words and principles continue to guide our nation. We look to his example for courage and to find the better angels of our nature. His legacy is the birthright of all Americans. And tonight we honor those who helped pass the story of his life from generation to generation.

In this story of this good and decent man, we really find the best of America. And so, tonight I would like to offer a toast to our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, and to our blessed country.

(A toast is offered.)

END 7:42 P.M. EST

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