Luncheon Honoring Daniel R. Coats, U. S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany

Reverend Terry Hursh:  Will you pray with me, please.  Oh Mighty God, Heavenly Father, guide the nations of the world into ways of justice and truth, establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, for what you have given us this good land as our heritage, make us always remember your generosity and constantly do your will.  Bless our land with honest industry, truthful education, and honorable way of life.  Save us from terror, violence, discord and confusion, complied in arrogance, and from every evil course of action.  Make us, who come from many nations with many languages, a united people, and defend our liberties, and give those in whom we have entrusted with the authority of government, the spirit of wisdom, that there might be justice and peace in our land. 

Today we are especially mindful, Heavenly Father, of our state.  We ask that you would guide our new Governor in ways pleasing to you, even as we remember Governor O’Bannon on his passing, and asking you to be with his family during this difficult time. 

We would also ask a special blessing on Ambassador Coats and the work that you have called him to do.  Be with him as he labors for peace and understanding among nations, protect him in his travels, and be with his family when he’s away.  Restore to each of us a generous spirit, for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.  In your name, Heavenly Father, we come before you and pray.  Amen

Lunch is now served.

(Many voices) (Inaudible).

Herbert London:  Referring to Tim Goeglein, who is with us today to represent the President of the United States, will make the formal introduction of Ambassador Coats.   Tim.  (Applause).

Tim Goeglein:  Herb, thank you very much, and on behalf of the President and all of us in the Bush administration, very warm greetings, especially to all of the great folks of the Hudson Institute, which as everyone knows is one of the great gems of Indiana. 

It’s really a pleasure to be here today.  A real honor specifically because I was asked to introduce a man who, next to my own father, I feel most akin to and most strongly about, a great man and a great mentor.  Herb London, as everyone knows is multi-talented, thinks about a lot of very important things and has for a long time in a really gifted way, writes about them in a way that is so compelling and evocative.  And one of the things that Herb London has written about for years and years is the idea of the public man, public intellectuals, but most importantly the great men of politics, and what it means to make a singular contribution to public life. 

I was rereading one of his essays just last week, and after finishing this essay, the first thought I had is, “I think he is describing Dan Coats.”  I think in addition to being a man who is now a statesman, Dan Coats is also a great man, and I can summarize it very easily.  Dan Coats is a man of extraordinary ability, a man who is self-sacrificial and generous in every way, and I would even suggest the first compassionate conservative.  In fact, Dan Coats, little known to a lot of people, really was the godfather of compassionate conservatism. 

He took this extraordinary body of great ideas and gave them a political face in the Project for American Renewal.  He made singular contributions as we all know in the Armed Services Committee.  He is the first friend of the family, and it goes on and on.  But the most important thing about Dan Coats is his personal generosity.  He is a man who has always made it his point in public life to find young people, and to encourage them to follow their dreams, and to go on to make their own contributions in public life. 

Just to make sure that I was doing my fact checking, I checked yesterday with Deanna Powell, who is head of Presidential Personnel at the White House, and I asked her, “How many people who are working in the White House are Coats’ alumni?”  She reminded me that there were nine of us now, which is more than any other senator, and I’m sure any other representative, which I think speaks to those of us who were sort of mentored in the Coats’ tradition of going into and remaining in public life and making your contribution. 

Then at some point saying, I’ve made my contribution now, let me return to the private sector, and live under the laws that I helped pass or generate, which was always one of Dan Coats’ signal comments.  But I think that the best thing that I can say about Dan Coats, other than being a great man of faith, and that really is, I know, first and foremost in his life; the most important thing I can say about this very good and decent man is that, he is the very rare politician, and that is, he is the same man in private as he is in public. 

It was not too long ago where it was very acceptable, and almost expected in politics, that you could walk into a room like this, look every one of you in the eyes, slap every one of you on the shoulder blades, and tell you every single thing that you ever wanted to hear.  Then to walk into another room, slap all of those people on the shoulder blades, look all of them in the eyes, and tell them every single thing that they ever wanted to hear, even if those two messages were in conflict. 

The good thing about Dan Coats is that he was always a man who made sure that his “Yea” was “Yea,” and his “Nay” was “Nay.”  In addition to doing a good job of talking the talk, he also walked the walk, and now we all benefit because he is our Ambassador to Germany.  So, it’s a great honor and pleasure to introduce to you, Dan Coats.  (Applause).

Dan Coats:  Well, Tim Goeglein used to work for me, and he was paid to say things like this.  (Laughter).  It’s very nice to hear those kind words, and Tim, I think if I had one thing I look back on that I’m perhaps as proud of as anything, it’s the fact that so many people that worked for me or with me during my tenure in the Congress have now taken on such significant responsibilities. 

I didn’t realize there were nine former employees now working in the White House, many and very responsible positions.  But I take a real sense of satisfaction of watching their careers grow, seeing the potential that they have reached, and the contributions that they’re making to public service and to our country, and specifically to the President; none less than Tim Goeglein, who emanates from Fort Wayne as I do, but we’ve formed a great friendship and family friendship over the years.  It’s been wonderful to watch his family grow, and see Tim take on such responsibilities and do the job so well.  So Tim, thank you very much for a very kind introduction.

It reminds me at a time that I was campaigning, and I thought I’d gotten a particularly great reception at one of my stops.  A person who introduced me, the county chairman, kept referring me to as a great man--great man--this is a great man.  

Then on the way home I was discussing with Marcia.  I had raised the question.  I said, “You know, that was really flattering.”  I said, “How many great men do you think there are in the State of Indiana, and she said, “One less than you think there is.”  (Laughter).  Wives have a way of, you know, getting to the truth in a way that we can’t always do.

My thanks to Hudson Institute, Herb.  We have just concluded a really terrific two and a half day conference between our German friends and American friends on the subject of Civil Society, the role of volunteers, the role of non-profits, the role of faith-based institutions, and addressing some of the fundamental problems, and social problems that all of our communities face. 

Hudson has taken a very direct role in all of this, and I have been able to continue the work that I did on this subject in the Congress over so many years through the auspices of Hudson.  Jay Hein, who is here, has helped me with that and directed this conference. 

This is the third in a series of conferences we’ve had on this subject between Germany and the United States.  We put together a conference in Berlin, and then had one in Dusseldorf, and now here in Indianapolis.  We’ve invited several of prominent people in Germany that are involved in this subject in looking at the ways in which we are going through our debate, and bringing about, I think, very important changes in the way we address these issues. 

I would like those who are from across the Atlantic with me, who came here for this conference, to stand up so you can give them a warm Hoosier welcome.  (Applause).  These are our friends from Germany.   There’s some more over there.  (Applause continues).

One of the toughest jobs I’ve had in Germany is explaining what a Hoosier is. (Laughter).  We named our dog, Hoosier, and Hoosier is with us in Germany.  So many of our German friends, who have attended receptions or dinners at the residence, have met Hoosier.  Not all of them wanted to meet Hoosier--Hoosier wanted to meet them however.  And the question comes up, what is a Hoosier?

 I said, “Look, I served in the Congress for 18 years representing the State of Indiana, and I couldn’t explain it in English, let alone in German.  (Light laughter).  So, a Hoosier is someone from Indiana, and there’s a little dispute as to exactly what that means.  But as a Hoosier, I say really from the bottom of my heart, the words, “back home again in Indiana,” have very special meaning, and it’s wonderful to be “back home again in Indiana.” 

To look across this room and see the faces of people that were directly involved and responsible for providing me with the opportunity to represent this state in the United States House of Representatives first, and then the United States Senate, I wouldn’t have been there without your support and your help, and I’m grateful for it.  It’s an opportunity for me to say, “Thank you for giving me that privilege and opportunity, and for the wonderful experience I had in telling the Hoosier story in Washington, D.C., and trying to bring Hoosier values to our policies there.”

I never expected to be asked to be Ambassador to Germany.  It came as a complete surprise.  It has been a most remarkable experience.  It wasn’t an easy decision for us.  Grandchildren, children, other considerations seem to weigh against saying yes, but after we had been there just a short amount of time, Marcia reflected by saying, “I can’t imagine that we ever hesitated a second.”

 We have been most warmly received.  America and Germany has had a special relationship since the end of the Second World War.  The Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, John Kennedy’s famous words, “Ich bin ein Berliner,” Ronald Reagan’s words “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” and our common purpose in standing there on the front line together against the totalitarian regime of the Soviet Union.  In all that history, 13 million American soldiers and their families living in Germany over the years since the end of the war created a very special relationship between our two countries. 

We arrived on September 7, 2001, exhausted after all the packing and goodbyes, and unpacked over the weekend.  My very first day, September 10^th, was meeting the embassy community, and on September 11^th, we all know what happened.

 It dramatically changed the lives of everybody in American and everybody in the world.  It changed the job of this Ambassador, who suddenly found himself thrown into a situation of representing our country in a new war; a war as equally threatening and dangerous, and requiring as much persistence and resolve, as the Cold War that had just ended a decade before.

 The outpouring of empathy and sympathy for America that took place on the afternoon and evening on September 11^th, and the days following in Germany, was extraordinary.  Hundreds of thousands of people came out to share our grief, to acknowledge their sorrow and sadness.

 I wish I had time to read you the letters, and talk about the experiences that flowed our way from the German people, who were grateful to America after 50 years of American support for the rebuilding of Germany and were expressing their sorrow. 

After five days on the job, I found myself standing at the Brandenburg gate with the President of the Country, expressing thanks to the German people, the 200,000 of them that had gathered there at the Brandenburg gate, and a nationwide audience of close to 80 million people viewing that event.  It was an introduction to Germany and the people of Germany that I had not anticipated. 

Much of my work centers now around security issues.  Issues relating to intelligence sharing, law enforcement, working with financial institutions to freeze assets of terrorists, and coordinating policies between the two countries. 

You are all aware of the rocky road which we have traveled over the past year or so.  I can report to you that relations are improving.  It has been a delicate task to keep doors open on both sides of the Atlantic, to make sure the dialogue and debate continue despite the difficulties.  We are very hopeful that as a result of the President’s activities in the United Nations as we speak, we can find common ground in going ahead, in standing together and dealing with the threat that we face.  Europeans have come a long way, I think, on this issue but there’s still a ways to go for some. 

The impact on America and Americans of 9/11 was profound.  It has been difficult to accurately convey the depth of the impact on America and Americans to our European friends, who did not see the threat in the same way that we saw the threat.  I think after the events of the last several months, the bombings in different parts of the world, the attack against the United Nations, refugee efforts in Iraq, and others, Europeans are starting to realize that this is a battle and a fight that we have to be in together if we’re going to succeed. 

That it is a threat, not just to the American society, but to any democratic free open society, by people who do not share our ideologies, who do not share our values, and who are bent on destroying either our economies, our resolve, our morale, or our people, and that we can only succeed, if we work together.

  I called up my friend Howard Leach, our Ambassador to France, during the toughest days of the differences that existed over this Iraq question.  I said, “Howard, I’m calling to thank you.”  He said, “For what?”  I said, “For getting Germany off the top of the list.”  (Laughter).  But through it all, we have maintained a dialogue, we have maintained the relationship, and we are working hard to continue that relationship. 

Our conference, which I’d like to discuss briefly, our conference addressed another issue, an issue that goes to the heart of where we live, where you live, where we work.  Everyday, I used to drive from the north side of Indianapolis into what then was American Fletcher National Bank, and then over to law school in the evening at IU.  I would come down Fall Creek Parkway and turn down Capitol, or Illinois, or Meridian, or one of those streets to come down, and drove through some pretty tough parts of town where some real problems existed that needed some real help. 

After that, serving in the Congress, I became involved in the process of how do we rebuild our communities?  How do we deal with these seemingly intractable social problems?  Ever since the mid-60s or so, we had engaged in an extraordinary effort costing trillions of dollars of centra