 Your Majesties and Distinguished Guests, King Hussein once explained the three virtues upon which Bedouin life is based, saying, We believe to be an honorable man, you must have the courage to defend your honor. We believe you must always show hospitality, and what is yours belongs to your guests. Tonight it gives me great pleasure to extend American hospitality to King Hussein and lovely Queen Noor. We cannot hope to match the graciousness of the Bedouins, but we do hope you'll consider what is ours is yours. Having been a long time friend of this country and the guest of many presidents, His Majesty probably has been to dinner in this room more often than I have. Early in his reign, King Hussein decided that he should know exactly what was on the minds of his people. So one night he commandeered a taxi cab and then took over and posed as the cab driver and ventured into Aman. It turned out to be a lively night. He picked up a fella carrying a heavy bag of vegetables and then engaged him in conversation and being modest and wanting to find out what they really thought. Cab driver Hussein was not exactly complimentary about King Hussein, to whom he was talking. The faithful subject, the passenger and the cab, told the cab driver that he'd beat him back and blew with a stick if he heard anything more said against the king. Probably still wondering why the cab driver tipped him. Well, there could be little wonder, however, about why this citizen loved his monarch. King Hussein well represents the character of his people. His grandfather described this character. The Arab king Abdullah wrote, has a penchant for unfettered liberty and cannot abide restriction or restraint. This is the reason why he is associated with the desert and the steppe and exhibits an incomparable bravery in defending his possessions. He is courageous and fond of oratory as well as poetry and love. Well, tonight we honor a man for whom liberty as personal as well as political meaning. Heads of state often find themselves restricted by their own staffs. King Hussein, for example, was once told that he could pilot airplanes as long as he didn't fly solo. His aides now know better. Well, today when many Americans think of King Hussein, an image of a swastbuckling pilot strapping himself into a jet comes to mind. However, that attractive that image may be, it's Hussein's integrity that captures the hearts of Americans.