George Bush's birthday present: Higher approval rating than Hussein Obama
On the eve of his presidential library opening in Dallas this past spring, Bush's job approval rating had recovered to 47 percent -- a double-digit improvement since he left office. A poll out last week pegged Obama's approval rating at 43 percent. And for a guy who was once accused by a prominent "jackass" of not caring "about black people," the Washington Post reports that Bush and his policies are badly missed...in Africa:Happy Birthday W!Across this continent, many Africans wish Obama was more like Bush in his social and health policies, particularly in the fight against HIV/AIDS — one of the former president’s signature foreign policy aid programs. Bush poured billions of dollars into the effort to combat the spread of the disease that once threatened to consume a generation of young Africans, and as Obama has spent two days touring South Africa, the shadow of his predecessor has trailed him. For Obama, the success of Bush’s program has proved a tad awkward, as he has been mindful to praise his predecessor even as he tries to push forward on his administration’s own plans for new programs based on private investment from U.S. businesses. Flying to South Africa from Senegal this weekend, Obama told reporters that Bush “deserves enormous credit” for the fight against HIV/AIDS, acknowledging that the program likely saved millions of lives.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, George W. Bush
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:23 AM
1 Comments:
I remember the Bush African-AIDs program. Bush and Secy of State Colin Powell carefully set up the medical aid program so that as much as humanly possible, the $15 BILLION aid actually went to medical services to AIDS/HIV positive people, and as little as humanly possible was stolen by The Usual Suspect African kleptocrats.
Some resentful African rulers and henchmen complained at the time, of "American interference in our affairs", leaving little or no opportunity to steal the aid, as is normal in American or European aid to Africa. But Bush & Powell ignored that-if you want the aid, it comes with these strict administrative requirements. Consequently, the $15 billion actually did much good, saving uncounted lives.
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