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 Today two white guys and two black guys met at the White House Rose Garden for a brewsky and a little chit chat.  

President Obama, VP Biden, Prof. Henry Louis Gates, and the cop who arrested Gates and set off a stupidly national controversy, Sgt. James Crowley, enjoyed a quaff under the shade of a robust magnolia tree.

But this was not the most significant event for the president today.

Before the kegger in the Rose Garden the President announced the 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. 

Among the names of the 16 recipients of the PMOF were: 

Nancy Goodman Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s leader breast cancer grassroots organization.

Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow,the last living Plains Indian war chief, and author of works on Native American history and culture. 

Two Hispanics were recognized by the President for “breaking down barriers and lifting their fellow citizens.”

Chita Rivera, an actress, singer, and dancer who broke racial barriers and inspired a generation of women. She was the first Hispanic to receive the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002.

And Dr. Pedro José Greer, a U.S. physician, the son of Cuban immigrants and currently the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs and Chair of the Department of Humanities, Health and Society at the Florida International University School of Medicine. The founder of Camillus Health Concern, a charity which delivers health services to the homeless in Miami-Dade County and the St. John Bosco Clinic which serves disadvantaged patients in Little Habana.

Dr. Greer has been recognized by Presidents Clinton, H. Bush, and Carter for his labor  with Miami’s poor. He is also the recipient of three Papal Medals as well as the prestigious MacArthur ‘genius grant.’

President Obama said: “These outstanding men and women represent an incredible diversity of backgrounds. Their tremendous accomplishments span fields from science to sports, from fine arts and foreign affairs. Yet they share one overarching trait. Each has been an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way.”

The Presidential Medal of Freedom was established by President Harry Truman in 1945, to honor civilian service during WWII.

The medal which was ostensibly revived by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, is the highest civilian award bestowed by an act of the U.S. Congress to recognize individuals who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” The award is not limited to U.S. citizens.

Desmond Tutu, “South Africa’s moral conscience,” as he is affectionately known, is the Anglican Archbishop emeritus who was the leading anti-apartheid activist in South Africa. The Archbishop was also the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

Recipients of the PMOF are selected by the President, either on his own initiative or based on recommendations.

The President will present the medals at a ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 12.