Independent :
President Barack Obama awarded Vice President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the highest civilian honour, in a surprise tribute at the White House. Mr Obama celebrated the longtime Delaware senator and Pennsylvania native, saying he was a “lion of American history” and the “best vice president America’s ever had”, before making the surprise announcement that he was giving Mr Biden the award. “For your faith in your fellow Americans, for your love of country, and for your lifetime of service that will endure through the generations, I’d like to ask the military aide to join us on stage,” Mr Obama said. “For my final time as President, I am pleased to award our nation’s highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.” The President bestowed the honour on Mr Biden with “an additional level of veneration” – making him the fourth person in US history to receive the award, along side Pope John Paul II, President Ronald Reagan, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Mr Biden, who had already had tears in his eyes from the farewell event – which he believed was to be a simple toast between he, the President, and senior staffers – accepted the honour
in a tearful speech, thanking the President, his staff, his wife, Dr Jill Biden, and First Lady Michelle Obama. Mr Obama honoured Mr Biden for serving public office for almost half a century, which included decades in the Senate and two terms as Vice President. During his time in public service, he authored the Violence Against Women Act, spearheaded the Cancer Moonshot initiative, and led the “It’s On Us” campaign against sexual assault on college campuses. But despite his decades of work, he said he owed all the credit to those around him. “I get a lot of credit I don’t deserve because I’ve had so many people to lean on,” he said. He thanked Mr Obama especially for giving him a much more powerful vice presidency than normal by having him serve as a top advisor in the Oval Office. “Mr President, you know that with good reason there is no power in the vice presidency… and there is no inherent power, nor should there be,” he said. “Mr President, you have more than kept your commitment to me by saying that you wanted me to help governent. “Every single thing you’ve asked me to do, Mr President, you have trusted me to do. And that is a remarkable thing.”
President Barack Obama awarded Vice President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the highest civilian honour, in a surprise tribute at the White House. Mr Obama celebrated the longtime Delaware senator and Pennsylvania native, saying he was a “lion of American history” and the “best vice president America’s ever had”, before making the surprise announcement that he was giving Mr Biden the award. “For your faith in your fellow Americans, for your love of country, and for your lifetime of service that will endure through the generations, I’d like to ask the military aide to join us on stage,” Mr Obama said. “For my final time as President, I am pleased to award our nation’s highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.” The President bestowed the honour on Mr Biden with “an additional level of veneration” – making him the fourth person in US history to receive the award, along side Pope John Paul II, President Ronald Reagan, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Mr Biden, who had already had tears in his eyes from the farewell event – which he believed was to be a simple toast between he, the President, and senior staffers – accepted the honour
in a tearful speech, thanking the President, his staff, his wife, Dr Jill Biden, and First Lady Michelle Obama. Mr Obama honoured Mr Biden for serving public office for almost half a century, which included decades in the Senate and two terms as Vice President. During his time in public service, he authored the Violence Against Women Act, spearheaded the Cancer Moonshot initiative, and led the “It’s On Us” campaign against sexual assault on college campuses. But despite his decades of work, he said he owed all the credit to those around him. “I get a lot of credit I don’t deserve because I’ve had so many people to lean on,” he said. He thanked Mr Obama especially for giving him a much more powerful vice presidency than normal by having him serve as a top advisor in the Oval Office. “Mr President, you know that with good reason there is no power in the vice presidency… and there is no inherent power, nor should there be,” he said. “Mr President, you have more than kept your commitment to me by saying that you wanted me to help governent. “Every single thing you’ve asked me to do, Mr President, you have trusted me to do. And that is a remarkable thing.”
