Cheney to make ‘policy address’ at Westminster College in Fulton: Mid-Missouri

The White House and Westminster College yesterday confirmed that Vice President Dick Cheney would visit Mid-Missouri next week.

Cheney will deliver remarks at 11:30 a.m. Monday in the Westminster Gymnasium at the liberal arts college in Fulton.

Westminster President Fletch Lamkin said yesterday that he has been told Cheney will give a foreign policy address whose subject matter will include Iraq.

"And let me make it clear," Lamkin said. "This is not meant to be a political rally or a fund-raiser. This is a serious policy address."

According to an itinerary released yesterday by the White House, Cheney and his wife, Lynn, will arrive at 10:25 a.m. at Columbia Regional Airport.

Lamkin said he received a telephone call Monday from the White House asking whether the vice president could give an address there. Lamkin said the college would be glad to host the nation’s second-in-command.

As late as Thursday, neither the college nor the White House would confirm Cheney’s visit to Fulton. The White House has a policy of not confirming the vice president’s schedule more than 48 hours in advance.

Lamkin said that he expects the speech to last about 30 minutes and that Cheney is to leave a short time later.

Plans are to grant tickets to Westminster trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, students, the media and invited politicians. No other public accommodations are being made.

In 1946, Westminster Gymnasium was the site of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s historic "Iron Curtain" speech.

Since then, the college has played host to a number of other influential politicians, including former President Ronald Reagan, former President George H.W. Bush, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev.

http://www.westminster-mo.edu/News/press_releases.asp?Node_ID=129&News_ID=1425

Press Releases

U.S. Vice President Cheney To Speak At Westminster College

Major foreign policy announcement planned for Monday in Fulton, in the same location as Winston Churchill’s historic “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946
4/23/2004
Mike Odneal

Fulton, MO – Continuing its long tradition of welcoming world leaders to campus, Westminster College will host Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday, April 28. Cheney will deliver a major U.S. foreign policy speech, including issues about Iraq, beginning at 11:30 am in Westminster’s Historic Gym.

This will be Cheney’s second visit to Westminster College in the last four years. In October 2000, he made a campaign stop on campus when he was a candidate for the vice president position.

“Westminster’s historic connection to world leaders and forward-thinking international statements makes our college campus a very appropriate location for Mr. Cheney’s announcement,” said Westminster College President Fletcher M. Lamkin. “I’m pleased that the tradition of leadership we maintain here at Westminster has stirred our country’s Vice President to select our college for such a major foreign policy announcement to the nation and world.”

In 1946, former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill visited this mid-Missouri private college to deliver his famous “Iron Curtain” speech – which is considered the most significant speech of Churchill’s life. Following Churchill’s speech in 1946, Westminster College has continued to host such international leaders as Presidents Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Likewise, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Polish President Lech Walesa, and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev have spoken at Westminster, among other world leaders in government and business.

Cheney’s upcoming visit to Westminster College was unsolicited but certainly welcomed by Lamkin. “I received a phone call just a few days ago, during which a member of the Cheney’s staff indicated that the Vice President wanted to come to Westminster again,” said Lamkin. “The strong historical significance of our Westminster campus – and the focus on values and integrity that we maintain -- provides a perfect context for modern-day messages of leadership and service.”

Admission to Cheney’s speech at Westminster will be provided to ticket-holders only, with tickets to be distributed on a very limited basis. Audience members will be required to adhere to strict security guidelines and timeframes.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.