Giving Bush his due

"Everybody wants to be liked," President Bush said recently. "But being liked because you've actually done something constructive that's measurable is the best way to try to be liked." If I were looking for something on which to agree with GWB, I’d have to look no further.

As much as I dislike George W. Bush—and if you’ve read much of this blog you know that I’m no fan of his—I believe in giving the man credit where he’s earned it. And he’s certainly earned it in Africa.

Of late, Bush has seemed overly concerned with his "legacy"; that is, the way he’ll be remembered as a President. He’d like Americans to forget things like a stolen election, the illegal detention of prisoners, the denial of basic civil rights to prisoners, the torture of prisoners, the subverting of the Constitution, his highly suspect reasons for going to war, his "rewriting" of his reasons for going to war, and all that patient merit of the unworthy takes. Little things like that. If I were him, I’d be concerned about my legacy as well.

But it has to be admitted (and has largely gone unnoticed) that he has a real legacy, a positive legacy, one that he should be proud of, in Africa.

Bush has instituted the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and funneled more than fifty billion in relief to Africa, and the money has made a difference that is real and tangible. You can’t always say that of Presidential initiatives, and when you can it can seldom be said positively. This time it can.

And as if that weren’t enough to be proud of, Bush has also put in place a plan to control Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). That word "neglected" is important; they include devastating conditions such as leprosy and elephantiasis; not as high profile as AIDS, perhaps, but devastating and widely uncontrolled in large parts of Africa.

This is Monday, December 5, World AIDS Day. It is appropriate that we remember George W. Bush for the good he has done. As for the other things, the things that will stain his legacy for years if not decades to come, we’ve got the other 364 days in the year to remember those. I hope that his darker legacy will long be remembered, but the truth is that Bush has made life better, longer, and easier for millions in Africa and he deserves to be remembered for that as well, even if it’s only for a day.

George W. Bush does indeed have a lot to be proud of. Sadly, he also wants to be remembered for things that, frankly, he should be more than ashamed of.

The Blues Viking


Further Reading

The Real Bush Legacy May Be in Africa (Huffington Post)

Bush loosening up on his legacy (International Herald-Tribune)

In Global Battle on AIDS, Bush Creates Legacy (New York Times)

The President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at Wikipedia

The opinions here expressed are mine and if you don’t like them you can get your own damn blog.