Stephen Sondheim, Barbra Streisand, and More Accept the Presidential Medal of

"So if you think your job is pressure-packed, hers meant that forgetting to carry the one might send somebody floating off into the solar system", Obama said.

As for Streisand, the president joked that she "has collected just about every honor and award that there is - I couldn't believe she hadn't gotten this one". "They represent what's best in us, and we are very, very proud to be able to celebrate them here today".

The honored political leaders included the late USA congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman to mount a major presidential campaign; former congressman Lee Hamilton, who specialized in foreign affairs; and retiring Sen.

Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan won honors for pioneering the Latin-flavored fusion sound in music, while composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim "re-invented the American musical" with complex and challenging themes. - A Native American activist who "devoted his life to protecting the rights of Native Americans and to conserving our planet". Obama praised Taylor as a good friend who makes listeners feel he is singing only to them.

"TAPS is a family and it's America", Carroll said.

- Willie Mays - The famed baseball player "stepped into the history books as a two-time MVP with 660 career home runs and 24 all-star appearances". The Say Hey Kid had an especially memorable visit on Tuesday.

-William Ruckelshaus, a former chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, who shaped the guiding principles of the agency, including a nationwide ban on the pesticide DDT and an agreement with the automobile industry to require catalytic converters to reduce automobile pollution.

For the special ceremony, Obama demonstrated his comedic talents, quipping about Spielberg's A-list connections: "Someone is calling him looking for a deal right now".

Before giving singer/actress Barbra Streisand her medal, Obama noted her "chutzpah" as a young Jewish-American Broadway star and for selling more albums in the United States than any other woman.