Another Side of Dubya

Lord knows I don't often have anything good to say about our current president. Lord knows I would disagree with just about any major decision he's made over the past 8 years. But I was very pleased to read the "Time" article on Bush's visit to Africa written by Bob Geldoff. First of all, I'm pretty sure Bob Geldoff hasn't seen eye-to-eye with our president, either. For another, I think it is important to recognize the good that people do.

In 2003 approximately 50,000 Africans were taking ARVs for AIDs. After Bush initiated PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDs Relief, 1.3 million African receive these drugs free of charge. The US contributes 1/3 of the money for the Global Fund to fight AIDs, tuberculosis, and malaria. That treats another 1.5 million. The US contributes 50% of all food aid. When Bush was here, he announed a $350 million fund for other tropical diseases, distributed 5.2 million mosquito nets in Tanzania (one of the best ways to prevent malaria), and awarded $1.2 billion in contracts from the Millenium Challenge, another Bush iniative.

I liked this quote from the "Time" article: "America has mortally compromised its own essential values of civil liberty while imposing its own ideas of freedom on others who may not want it. The Bush regime has been divisive--but not in Africa. It has been incompetent--but not in Africa. It has created bitterness--but not in Africa. Here, his administration has saved millions of lives."

Why haven't I heard more about what will be by all accounts a very positive legacy? Geldoff asks that question and Bush replies, "I tried to tell them (the American people). But the press weren't much interested." Obviously, there have been other issues that have taken priority in the press. But I do think it says something about the media or the public that we don't hear about the very good things that someone is doing, even if other decisions or policies are controversial. Or maybe it says something about our view of Africa--still the dark continent where one can hear the passing horror story of starvation, civil war, or genocide. But heck, stuff like that is the order of the day for a place like Africa. A place where most people consider it a country, not a continent of 53 independent individual countries, each with its own language, culture, and history.

I'm glad to say that I can be proud of my president for the work that he is doing here. It's a legacy that I expect President Obama to keep up! I don't find it disingenuous to support Bush's work in this area while deploring other aspects of his administration. I think that's the point of our political freedom as Americans. We are a great country with so much to offer and right now our country's generosity and spirit are overshadowed by so much negative press. I believe in celebrating those things that are being done well!