 of the Los Angeles Olympic organizing committee Peter you brought Mr. President Olympians our partners and sponsors in the audience ladies and gentlemen a couple corrections I Did miss the Olympic team. I tried very hard in for the 1956 games and Mayor Bradley wants you to know that his introduction was also Incorrect. He missed being police chief What are the Olympic games? 150 nations actually 151 coming to this city For peaceable purposes to take their best youngsters on the fields of play and some third levels of government We should tell you that we're generating 236 million dollars in direct tax revenue from this Olympic games into the federal coffers and we're not asking for anything back Paul's there for our chairman For providing an environment in this country that allow a private sector Olympic games to work an Environment of cooperation with the private sector and government to make something that everyone here and everybody in this country Can rally about so in 1984 will be proud of these United States of America. Thank you very much Thank you Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. President distinguished guests There's a kick being here back in the Biltmore Bowl, you know, it's a thrill knowing it's here After the reins we've had and I'm kind of a Kind of a kick see in John neighbor be master of ceremonies does a good job a very bright job, believe me He won four medals for swimming in the Olympics and two this last Tuesday a Lot of bright fellas on this committee I love Peter Yubaroff. He's solid Olympic because at the reception before he was smoking a big cigar and Blowing five interlocking smoke rings Now I'm thrilled to be here to help the Olympics, you know, although there are a lot of needy causes Like as when I came in there was a fellow out there with his hand out and I said Governor you don't have to do this But I can't wait for the Olympics. It's just gonna be wonderful with men battling each other fighting and Competing and that's just getting out of the airport Now the Olympics are wonderful They teach young people to think clean to play clean and to live clean Which an election year is gonna confuse the hell out of them. I Just hope the weather is kind because it hadn't been too kind. I'll tell you it's been awful. It's the lightning It's what bothers me. I keep jumping out of bed and taking a bow Actually, I don't mind the rain but Jean Kelly keeps dancing up the side of my house But it's great and this is a great wonderful group here. I really mean that, you know, I can't I can't tell you Just how how this this group? I don't know how you got here I guess you treaded water on the way in I guess and I hope it stops I really do it because people have been there. There's some nasty events of and I think Tootsie started the whole thing You know, it's not nice to fool mother nature Maybe God is sore, you know that LA let Steve Garvey and Ron say go. I'm not I don't know what it is So about something anyway, I Tell you it was pretty bad out in San Fernando Valley The water was up some places to the top of the houses and there was a fellow sitting on top of the house And the water was just over his feet and a and a rowboat came by and said can we help you said no I made a deal with God and a little later the water was up to his chest and a helicopter came by and said Can we help you and the fellow said no, I made a deal with God and a little later he drowned And he went up to heaven. He's looking around. He finally ran into God. He said what happened God said I don't know I sent a row boat and a helicopter for you You know that animals animals can always tell when there's something wrong because yesterday 40 pairs of animals We're trying to get on the queen job. I know because my dog and I were in third place. I Just don't tell you it's a kick to be here and it's wonderful to see the president again He looks so marvelous and he's doing such a fine job And it's great to read the paper about how the economic index is coming on and I've known him so long and he looks so good And God, I just hope that I can look that good when I get his age And I watch him all the time You know and and he's got a great sense of humor like one when he was wounded And they took him to the hospital, you know, and he wanted to know if the doctor was a Republican which I thought took a lot Of moxie, you know, and I like a president that tells jokes instead of appointing them and I was saying I I've known him for so long. We were very close. We're back-to-back on the late show and I've known him for a long in fact we appeared right here in this bowl for a big big dinner for Al Jolson about 40 years ago and I've been a friend of his ever since you know a lot of Presidents that you pick on president because they're the big man and I do I do a lot of jokes about the Mr. Reagan, you know on on the on the on the television But he's the one and I've always picked on presidents, you know And I hear things like the Democrats who are saying that he's using the White House as a stepping stone to get back into pictures But I don't believe that I don't believe those things and I say a lot of those things You know and if I said those things in Moscow, I guess I would be a emcee at the Siberian stock company or something Siberia over there is where they send their people with crazy political ideas. We send ours to Washington, but it doesn't make any difference Now it's true and most most presidents have been fun You know, I know that mr. Ford has always been nice and whenever he hits me with a ball He claims he's shooting somewhere else, you know Things like that, but it's it's it's a mr. Carter wasn't too kind I said some things about his him and he just snapped his fingers and my cue cards were born again But Now I helped I helped mr. Reagan during the campaign I went to a couple of spots with him and in fact, I had a couple of ideas for his for his cabinet I want to Charlton Heston as vice president at that time because I thought we needed a miracle and Then I wanted Don Rickles as ambassador to Iran Can't you see can't you see him walking into the I a toll and say look hockey puck? You need a new flea collar. Anyway President doesn't need much help. He can get on that television and charm the hell out of he makes dark Dale Carnegie Looked like Don Rickles. I'll tell you he can sell he could sell them dots and the Lee, I a coca. I'll tell you that Or a copy of penthouse to Jerry fall well He can really sell and it's my delight they asked me just to do five or six minutes I usually bow for a minute, but it doesn't make any difference It's a just a delight for me to have this next chore ladies and gentlemen and introduce the president of the United States Thank you. Thank you very much and everyone except Bob On account of I shouldn't have to follow that He know I do thank him and I thank all of you for a very warm welcome members of the Olympic Committee everyone mumma Mayor Bradley senator Wilson John neighbor Bob Hope all the distinguished guests. I have to say one thing about My very good friend and my minister Don Mumaw, you know, he was a linebacker for the Bruins When I was governor, I took him to a couple of football games in which the Bruins were playing I thought my playing days were over, but you should sit beside him in a stadium when the Bruins are playing It gets to be a pretty physically experience But I'm pleased that my pleasant but official Duties of welcoming the Queen permitted me to be here with you today. I Must admit that every time I visit, California It gets harder and harder and Pete you're gonna find this out to get on that plane and go back east Even with the bad weather out here. It's better than most parts of the world Few weeks ago. We had a blizzard in Washington Some of the Californians on my staff learned what it means to be snowed in Yet even when the temperature was below freezing and snow covered the ground Believe it or not joggers were still seen making their daily run Although those hearty souls certainly had more tenacity than most They represented dramatic change of attitude that's taken hold over the last two decades Today is never before Americans are actively engaged in personal exercise and physical fitness programs a health trend We should all encourage Lately I haven't had as much time for my equestrian pursuits. There's no bridal path at the White House but I work out on a regular basis because they do have a gym upstairs there and I'll have to admit I don't have the same caliber of adversaries our Olympic athletes But it does help to stay in shape when you're facing the fighting Irish in a form of Tip O'Neill Incidentally, I have to inject a little news item right here though. That was that was a joke. Seriously. I want to I Want to be serious a little bit about some of our sports back there the ways and means committee the all-powerful committee at the house of representatives in an overwhelming bipartisan move has voted 32 to 3 in favor of and sent out to the floor the Social Security Compromise Plan and that was Chairman Dan Rosten Kowski and then the ranking minority leader Barbara Conable and the sub-chairman Jake Pickle and I Hope that the Full House and Senate will follow their lead and Protect Social Security for years to come by showing the same bipartisanship and This will also guarantee. I think if they will continue on that a solid economic recovery Now I know we've got a good number of Olympians with us today Some have been for one reason or another Introduced but I just wondered if all present and past of the Olympic athletes who are here today Could stand up so that we could give them a round of applause for what they've done what they're doing The truth is I just really wanted to see them all Well, you know when I was a bit younger being involved in athletics I was I like so many others dreamed about the Olympics. I didn't get very close to them the closest I think was at University of Illinois. It was the state track and field championships for the high schools of Illinois I was on the 880 relay and I can remember handing off the baton to our anchor man We didn't win as there was a young fellow that was also anchor man on a high school team from Chicago Ralph Metcalf went on to win Gold medals in 32 and in 36 in the Olympics He and Jess Owen were very very special to my generation. I Can remember what a great source of pride it was when they won that day in Berlin and it off Hitler With his Aryan supremacy Stupidity had to stand up and swallow that stupidity when the gold medals were placed around the necks of some of our fine black athletes Ralph Metcalf and Jesse Owen were much more than great athletes. They were great Americans Ralph went on to become a member of the United States House of Representatives remember of years Sports in general and the Olympics in particular bring us together as nothing else One of our first great sports heroes was John L. Sullivan Heavyweight champion the world at a time in this country's history when there was a great discrimination against the Irish and When Jim Corbett finally took his title as heavyweight champion of the world Sullivan, I think won the hearts of his fellow countrymen when he said I have fought once too often But if I had to get licked, I'm glad it was by an American He's how can we ever forget the moment when another boxer a young man George Foreman From an underprivileged background proud to be representing our country at the Olympics in Mexico City at a time when there was great Great ill feeling and the age 30 was a barrier to To some in this country and all and then he how he had it throughout the fight and where he had it I'll never know but when victory was announced and he stood in the middle of that ring and suddenly unfurled a small American flag and stood with that flag Raised it was a thrill. I think for everyone in our country. I Say it was in the Turbulent 60s. He showed us that whatever divides us It's not as strong as what keeps us together And then there were those young men at Lake Placid that team that Their coach told them before the game before they went out to meet the Russians And he said you were born for this moment This is your moment, and I think we'll never forget the picture of those young fellows after that nap that victory there on the ice those young Americans when they Certainly were not the favorite to win by long ways, but they did Win or lose we've always been proud of our athletes And I think that all of you especially you here at the front table Don Miller and Peter Uberoff George Moody Don Criveland can be rightfully proud of the part that you're playing You and others who are providing the support for our team as well as those who are helping to organize the event itself Deserve more than a word of thanks, and I'm happy today to be able to extend it to you on behalf of the American people. I Appreciate the magnitude of the task that you've taken upon yourselves The price tag for selecting training and supplying your Olympic team as you told us $77 million Raising that money and making sure that it's spent effectively as an enormous responsibility And this year Americans are not only supporting their own team, but they're also responsible for the games themselves Today you're part of a noble American tradition of Direct citizen involvement if it weren't for citizens like you who take it upon themselves to support our athletes The American team would be left wanting as it has many times in the past unlike some other countries American teams as you well know and as have been told here today do not receive government grants or federal tax dollars and That gladdens my heart not just because we've got financial problems in Washington But because I just think that there are a lot of things that we were in danger of drifting into a feeling in this country that well It was always governments turned to do it let government do it and we were beginning to lose perhaps that Wonderful do-it-yourself thing that has always characterized the American people So I know that you're going to get the job done the task of organizing the games is worthy of Yankee ingenuity With that operating budget as you've been told of nearly a half billion dollars Next year's games will show the world what Americans without government subs that he can accomplish these games will reflect the Excellence the hospitality in the spirit of accomplishment that are so much a part of our way of life. I Understand that there are already signs of the swelling public support The corporate community as evidenced by you who are here today Has stepped forward in a big way and among other things Financing specific construction projects needed for the games, and I think we're all grateful for this example of corporate citizenship One of the top priorities of our administration has been to encourage the American people as individuals as Organizations in private and in business life to get more directly involved in getting things done Solving problems and helping each other Private initiative is our most precious American resource, and it's as alive today as it was when Our ancestors used to join in barn-raising parties When it was needed for a neighbor Preliminary figures for 82 suggest that even in the time of severe recession Americans were still willing to contribute generously to worthwhile and charitable causes last year and we all know how bad last year was And again, these are just preliminary figures Americans as individuals contributed forty eight point seven billion dollars an increase of nine point four percent over 1981 corporate giving was two point nine billion dollars, and that was a one percent higher than 1981 but in nineteen eighty-two corporate profits were down 22% from what they had been in 1981 and yet they still improved their contributions Well private sector initiatives succeed just as these Olympics will succeed because of thousands and thousands of individual efforts The Olympic effort has the support of people like Jim McKay Roone Arledge and yes Howard Cosell I Realized there's a theory that good news isn't good for the ratings But I only wish that every one of the media could appreciate as much as all of you here do the voluntary efforts being taken by the American people so I suggest that April 17th through April 23rd its national volunteer week that during that week maybe The America's heroic private sector initiative efforts should be given the attention they deserve And then if the ratings go down why they can go back to the bad news But on the other hand, you know, there's something that's not all too bad about that. I think it's great that bad news is Considered or the bad events and happenings are considered worthy of news and the good deeds are so commonplace in America That they're not news and so they don't get the attention Maybe we just have a few days and do that There isn't any shortage of good stories Bill Verity who headed my private sector initiatives task force told me about Monroe, Ohio Town with a losing high school football team and then they hired a new coach and he suggested the team's poor showing was simply put Because its players just weren't as physically strong as their adversaries and he recommended building a physical conditioning facility complete with weight Training equipment well the school board reported they just couldn't afford the $50,000 needed for the project Instead of giving up the hometown barber a live wire named Robert Yeltsler Was brash enough to say what for came in here today talked to governor duke major And I know that the request is coming to expand the disaster area of california quite sizeably include a number of the counties that have been hard hit In this recent storm and I was pleased to tell him that Old hard-hearted me we will expedite the answer to his request But it's times of trouble that can bring out the best in people. We're seeing that all over southern california These organizations are of course based on voluntary support and represent the best again that there is about this country I hope that when the winds stop and the flood waters recede People here in california Especially will remember what's been done and even more important will remember to do their part to support these private efforts The job they've done in the last few days is really something to be proud of Our country has been blessed with people who understand that whether or not their community will be the Decent place. They want it to be depends on them And we're here today in that same spirit Millions of young people will be watching the games as you've been told young people from all over the world as well as our own Children the fiber of tomorrow's american And I know we won't let those kids down and we won't shortchange our country by doing anything less than a first-class job In a free society it all depends on us so I just want to whatever I can say to encourage everyone to do what they can to support our team the american olympic team Years after his triumph in berlin Jesse Owens Was asked if the playing of the national anthem at the olympic victory stand ceremonies should be discontinued You remember it wasn't too many years ago. We went to people talking about things like that that playing the national anthem might be provocative Well, all american should hear his answer He said it's a tremendous feeling when you stand there and watch your flag fly above all the others For me it was the fulfillment of a nine-year dream And I couldn't forget The country that brought me there and I thank you for letting me be a small part of this ceremony here today And bob I can't resist telling a little story here that also has to do with Some gentlemen who three of them arrived at the pearly gates together and were informed that there was only room for one And they had decided inside that the man who participated in the oldest trade or profession Would be the one that was allowed to come in And a gentleman stepped forward and said well We know that the lord made adam and then created eve out of a rib from adam and that took surgery and i'm a surgeon So I guess it's me But before he could move in the second we said wait He said before the lord did that He worked six days Everything was chaos and he worked six days and created the earth So he said that makes him an engineer and I guess that calls for me And the third one stepped up and said I'm an economist. Where do you think they got all that chaos? I think of that story many times When news and memorandums reached my desk and recommendations Anyway, again, thank thank you for letting me participate and thank you all for what you're doing. God bless you all Obviously words alone are not enough to express our appreciation in the field of athletics the olympic athletes exchange lapel pins It's a symbol of their friendship and camaraderie We would like to give you on one of each of the sports lapel pins the collector's series Number one in the collector's edition of the lapel pins for the 1984 olympic games. Thank you Please remain in your seats until the head table has been excused. Thank you for coming Okay