US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama greet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer, on the North Portico before an official State Dinner at the White House in Washington, June 7, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has toasted German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a Rose Garden dinner as an extraordinary leader. He also used Tuesday's dinner to present Merkel with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Obama said he still remembers the rally he held in Berlin as a presidential candidate, which drew adoring throngs. And so he said he had decided to reciprocate with what he called "a little dinner in our Rose Garden."

After the citation was read aloud, Obama told the 200-plus dinner guests to go ahead and applaud. But then Obama realized he had forgotten something and reminded himself that "I've got to do the toast." And he did just that.

Merkel recalled dreaming of freedom as a child in East Germany and thanked Americans for helping the Germans.