Washington Post: “Few official acts reveal more about an individual president than the Presidential Medal of Freedom designations. While the general categories have remained fairly constant since President John F. Kennedy established the modern version of the honor in 1963 — public servants, creative artists and athletes are traditionally well represented — the specific choices often pose a study in contrasts.”
“The demographic differences between Presidents Obama and George W. Bush’s honorees, for example, are quite telling. African Americans represented roughly the same portion of each man’s designations—18 percent of Obama’s, compared to 17 percent for Bush —but women have made up 36 percent of the medal’s recipients under the current president versus 15 percent during Bush’s time in office. In a similar vein, Obama has awarded the honor to a higher proportion of Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans and gay and lesbian Americans than W did.”
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