President Obama delivers remarks during the Kennedy Center Honors Reception, Dec. 2, 2012.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks during the Kennedy Center Honors Reception in the East Room of the White House, Dec. 2, 2012. Honorees seated onstage from left: three members of the British rock group Led Zeppelin: singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, and keyboardist and bassist John Paul Jones; ballerina Natalia Makarova, television comedian David Letterman; actor Dustin Hoffman; and Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy.