If you think the United States has stood still, who built the largest shopping center in the world, the Lloyd Shopping Center right here? - Richard Nixon

On Christmas Eve, during my terrible personal ordeal of the renewed bombing of North Vietnam, which after 12 years of war finally helped to bring America peace with honor, I sat down just before midnight. I wrote out some of my goals for my second term as President. Let me read them to you:

What I was talking about just a moment ago after we finished meeting all of these winners--I always like to meet winners, believe me, and to give condolences to losers; I have done both, you know but I was reminded of a little bit of history that I would like to share particularly with these very young people who were not born when these dinners first began in 1947, and with the Members of the House and the Senate who, like myself, may have attended that first dinner in 1947. For 23 years the Veterans of Foreign Wars have had a dinner here in Washington in which they have honored the Members of the House and the Senate. And I attended that first dinner in '47 as a freshman Member of Congress. I was privileged to attend. I remember among those who were in attendance, incidentally, on that occasion was another freshman Member of Congress, Olin Teague, the Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. And then I remember through the years my association with this organization. And I, without imposing on your time, would like to share it with you very briefly before introducing our honored guest and award winner tonight. I recall that not only many dinners like this for Members of Congress, but on eight different occasions as Vice President of the United States, I have had the honor of addressing the National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. However, that is all past history. I am proud to be here tonight, proud because of this special occasion in Which these young people who have won these awards, the Voice of Democracy Awards, in which they are honored, but proud also because this is the first time, as President of the United States, that I have had the honor of addressing any meeting of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. And I am proud to be here in that capacity. But I speak to you tonight not as Commander in Chief which, of course, was referred to by our Commander, Ray Gallagher, but I speak to you as one of your comrades who has been with you on so many of these occasions in the past. And I think that I can speak to you in the spirit in which this award is being given by referring very briefly to, I think, what this contest has been about, in which all of you have participated, and also where America stands today at this very critical juncture in our history and in world history.

I don't know of any one that in terms of concrete progress will serve the public interest and the individual interest of hundreds of thousands of Americans; I don't know of any group that will be more important than this group. This is a group of very busy people; Governors, mayors, presidents of 300 companies, vice presidents, executive officials. You have taken off to come to Washington to a conference, and I suppose sometimes you wonder "Was this trip worthwhile?" All that I can say is that I know it is worthwhile. I know that without your help we cannot do the job that needs to be done. I know that with your help there is nothing that we cannot accomplish in this field.