President Bush and first lady Laura Bush are applauded by Vice President Dick Cheney, second right, his wife Lynne Cheney, right, presidential friend Roland Betts, third left, and honorees Ruby Dee, left, and Ossie Davis, second left, upon their arrival at the Kennedy Center in Washington Dec. 5, 2004.

Kennedy Center honorees, from left to right: composer and conductor John Williams; soprano Joan Sutherland; actor, producer, writer and director Warren Beatty; singer and composer Elton John, stand during the national anthem at the 27th annual Kennedy Center Honors at the Kennedy Center in Washington Dec. 5, 2004.

President Bush, right, and first lady Laura Bush, second right, stand with Ossie Davis, second left, and Ruby Dee, left, during the National Anthem at the Kennedy Center in Washington Dec. 5, 2004.

President Bush, far right, and first lady Laura Bush, second right, stand with the 27th annual Kennedy Center honorees at the Kennedy Center in Washington Dec. 5, 2004. Pictured front row, left to right: composer and conductor John Williams; soprano Joan Sutherland; actor, producer, writer and director Warren Beatty; singer and composer Elton John; husband-and-wife actors, writers and producers Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis.

Actor, producer, and writer Warren Beatty, center, gestures from the balcony as his wife, actress Annette Bening, left, and singer and composer Elton John, right, look on at the Kennedy Center in Washington Dec. 5, 2004.

Former presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., second from left, and his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry, far left, walk with 2004 Kennedy Center honoree, actor Warren Beatty, and his wife, actress Annette Bening, far right, as they arrive for the gala performance at the John F. Kennedy Center.

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's nominee to become secretary of state, arrives for the Kennedy Center Honors gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington Dec. 5, 2004.

Former Democratic candidate for vice president, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, and his wife, Elizabeth, arrive for the Kennedy Center Honors gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington Dec. 5, 2004.

Soprano Joan Sutherland, a 2004 honoree, arrives for the gala performance celebrating the Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington Dec. 5, 2004.

Singer and composer Elton John, left, an honoree at this year's celebraton, arrives with his partner David Furnish for the Kennedy Center Honors gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington Dec. 5, 2004.

Kennedy Center honoree, actor Warren Beatty, and his wife, actress Annette Bening, left, arrive arrive for the gala performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington Dec. 5, 2004.

Singer Aretha Franklin, a 1994 Kennedy Center honoree, arrives for the gala performance celebrating the Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington Dec. 5, 2004.

Actor Robert Downey Jr. arrives for the Kennedy Center Honors gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington Dec. 5, 2004. Downey got a frosty reception from the audience when he referred to rock legend Elton John, one of this years Kennedy Center honorees, as "the other first lady."

Hip-hop star Sean Combs, with Kim Porter, left, arrives for the gala performance celebrating the Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington Dec. 5, 2004.

The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen, left, is tagged on the red carpet by actress Linda Carter, right, as they arrive for the gala performance celebrating the Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington Dec. 5, 2004.