PRESIDENTIAL MEDALS OF FREEDOM AWARDED IN WHITE HOUSE CEREMONY

At his first Medal of Freedom conferral, President Obama ran a tight ship of a ceremony, which began slightly after 3 p.m. and clocked in at about 40 minutes' worth of speechifying and medal-bestowing in the glittering East Room, the largest room in the White House. This year, actor Sidney Poitier, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Broadway star Chita Rivera, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and former Irish president Mary Robinson were among the 16 who received the nation's highest civilian honor.

The president's introductory remarks (smoothly delivered, apparently without written notes) continued in this manner, bowing more to the medal recipients' achievements than to his own experiences with them. After pronouncements were pronounced, Obama clasped medals around 16 necks, engaging in a great deal of hugging, cheek-kissing, whispering and back-patting -- a prolonged bout of physical affection that the recipients happily returned.

Guests mingled festively beforehand in the surreal grandeur of the White House foyer, where a clutch of musicians in red uniforms with brass buttons provided background sounds ("I Could Have Danced All Night" and "Night and Day"). At an open bar in the corner, a bartender presided over various liquors, glasses of champagne and a few beer bottles.

Professor Stephen Hawking was a brilliant man and a mediocre student when he lost his balance and tumbled down a flight of stairs. Diagnosed with a rare disease and told he had just a few years to live, he chose to live with new purpose. And happily, in the four decades since, he has become one of the world's leading scientists.

His work in theoretical physics—which I will not attempt to explain further here—has advanced our understanding of the universe. His popular books have advanced the cause of science itself. From his wheelchair, he's led us on a journey to the farthest and strangest reaches of the cosmos. In so doing, he has stirred our imagination and shown us the power of the human spirit here on Earth....

At a moment when cynicism and doubt too often prevail, when our obligations to one another are too often forgotten, when the road ahead can seem too long or hard to tread, these extraordinary men and women—these agents of change—remind us that excellence is not beyond our abilities, that hope lies around the corner, and that justice can still be won in the forgotten corners of this world. They remind us that we each have it within our powers to fulfill dreams, to advance the dreams of others, and to remake the world for our children.

Great honors like Presidential Medal of Freedom are not bestowed lightly, yet I can't help but be amused imagining the scene, which sounds for all the world like the setup for a joke. Let's see, Chita Rivera, Stephen Hawking, Sidney Poitier, Billie Jean King and Archbishop Desmond Tutu go into a bar, and ... well, for good measure let's throw in Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow -- High Bird, the only surviving Plains Indian war chief. He received his medal from President Barack Obama, who tried to avoid getting a face full of feathers. -Editor