50 million freed, 10M lives saved. not a bad legacy. but i forgot, bush hates black people... [rquoter](CNN) -- A legacy of President George W. Bush will be that he saved 10 million lives around the world. His critics ignore it, but name another president about whom one can say that with such certainty. It is what historians will say a decade from now looking back. Not bad for a president who leaves office with the lowest approval rating in recent memory. The bottom line is: George Bush is a healer. First, a surprise proclamation came on January 29, 2003. I was in the first row in the House chamber when three quarters through his State of the Union address, the president boldly said: "I ask the Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years ... to turn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean" and "lead the world in sparing innocent people from a plague of nature." And lead the world we did. No president in history had made such a commitment against a single disease. Those words and the action that followed meant that instead of another 30 million people dying from HIV infections, maybe just another 20 million will. Later that night in an interview for CNN in my Capitol office, I predicted that five years later, this commitment to fight HIV would be the single most significant thing the president said that night. It was. But even I -- who as physician in Africa had witnessed how this virus was hollowing out societies -- did not predict the huge global impact this Bush commitment would have on generations to come. In my annual medical mission trips to Africa during the Bush administration, I saw the cost of treatment for HIV with life-saving antiretrovirals (ARVs) drop from $4,000 a year to $125. The number of Africans on ARVs jumped from 50,000 to 2.1 million. And the multiplier effect of Bush making this a presidential global priority was reflected thereafter in every meeting I had as Senate majority leader with the world leaders, including those from Russia, China and India. If you were dealing with the United States, you'd better have made HIV a national priority, because we had. And it was more than HIV. Six months ago, Tom Daschle, Mike Huckabee, John Podesta, Cindy McCain and I (yes, we five of different persuasions do work together!) went to Rwanda on a fact-finding trip. Our visits with villagers all over the country opened our eyes to how Bush's five-year, $1.2 billion effort to combat malaria has provided 4 million insecticide-treated bed nets and 7 million life-saving drug therapies to vulnerable people. Yes, George Bush the healer. Future historians will also note what today's pundits ignore: total US government development aid to Africa quadrupled from $1.3 billion in 2001 to more than $5 billion in 2008. What's more, the Bush administration doubled foreign aid worldwide over the past eight years. You have to go back to the Truman years to match that. And the president revolutionized the way we give aid with the creation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, now active in 35 countries. This $6.7 billion public-private partnership for the first time ties aid to accountability based on a country's governing well, fighting corruption and commitment to economic freedoms. iReport.com: Share your thoughts on Bush's legacy Secondly, Bush healed abroad, but he also healed right here at home. Before Bush acted, the nation's 43 million seniors did not have affordable access to prescription drugs (the most powerful tool a doctor has to prevent and treat disease) through the Medicare program. Today, because of George Bush, they do. Initially, conservatives howled because the prescription drug initiative "cost too much." Liberals hated it because it involved the markets and competition. But today, 23 million seniors live healthier lives, Medicare drug spending has been 20 percent to 30 percent less than predicted for each of the past two years and seniors overwhelmingly give the program enthusiastic reviews. And, in addition, the program is highly redistributive -- giving advantages the poorest, introducing preventive care to Medicare, encouraging electronic prescribing and introducing chronic disease management. Who says Republicans can't lead on heath reform? Thirdly, a lot of people forget that the health of a nation's people is more dependent on behavior and education than on health services -- the doctors, hospitals and insurance companies. Infant mortality is three times higher for a woman who did not graduate from high school when compared with one who has a college degree. And the president focused laser-like on improving K-12 education by demanding transparency and accountability, and raising expectations. The U.S. ranks a miserable 21st in the world in science and 25th in math among 15 year-olds. President Bush made the education of our children a moral issue. To maintain our now slipping global competitiveness, we have no choice but to radically transform the K-12 education system over the next decade. And historians will say it all began with the groundbreaking No Child Left Behind legislation of President Bush. I've had the privilege of knowing George W. Bush personally and as president. I have seen his passions. Naturally, he will be judged in the short term for his role in waging the war on terror, keeping America safe since 9/11 and acting on his belief in promoting liberty aboard. Over time, however, it is the foundations he laid for healing. for the most part ignored by mainstream media, that I am confident will be his enduring legacy. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bill Frist. [/rquoter]
I think Africa is one area where Bush deserves some credit. He did lie about much he increased aid at one point, but he did do some good work in Africa.
Pirates increased over 2000% during Bush's 8 years in office -- how long before it's unsafe to go wake boarding on Lake Travis ? THANKS BUSH
I have to say, this is a very good part of Bush's legacy. Let's just hope that Obama continues on the same track when it comes to Africa. Everything else...not really.
I find it dubuious that these guys can give credit to bush on AIDs in Africa just because he committed money to the problem. Its nice that he increased aid to Africa, but given how he ignores problems in the US and spent like a drunken sailor, him spending more money somewhere rings hollow. He spends money everywhere. After his address thursday, Rachel Madow and Ariana Huffington were discussing how he's trying to pimp the prescription drug plan as a success. dude is delusional, and we won't even get started on no child left behind.
World poverty is a HUGE issue for me. And Bush deserves a lot of credit on this front with respect to AIDS in Africa. I'm very critical of him otherwise. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1717934,00.html Bob Geldof travels with President Bush to Africa I gave the President my book. He raised an eyebrow. "Who wrote this for ya, Geldof?" he said without looking up from the cover. Very dry. "Who will you get to read it for you, Mr. President?" I replied. No response. The Most Powerful Man in the World studied the front cover. Geldof in Africa — " 'The international best seller.' You write that bit yourself?" "That's right. It's called marketing. Something you obviously have no clue about or else I wouldn't have to be here telling people your Africa story." It is some story. And I have always wondered why it was never told properly to the American people, who were paying for it. It was, for example, Bush who initiated the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) with cross-party support led by Senators John Kerry and Bill Frist. In 2003, only 50,000 Africans were on HIV antiretroviral drugs — and they had to pay for their own medicine. Today, 1.3 million are receiving medicines free of charge. The U.S. also contributes one-third of the money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — which treats another 1.5 million. It contributes 50% of all food aid (though some critics find the mechanism of contribution controversial). On a seven-day trip through Africa, Bush announced a fantastic new $350 million fund for other neglected tropical diseases that can be easily eradicated; a program to distribute 5.2 million mosquito nets to Tanzanian kids; and contracts worth around $1.2 billion in Tanzania and Ghana from the Millennium Challenge Account, another initiative of the Bush Administration. So why doesn't America know about this? "I tried to tell them. But the press weren't much interested," says Bush. It's half true. There are always a couple of lines in the State of the Union, but not enough so that anyone noticed, and the press really isn't interested. For them, like America itself, Africa is a continent of which little is known save the odd horror.
bush is on a campaign to improve his legacy, because things that really take presidential ability, talent, and focus, and competency, he's a complete failure. He increased funding to Africa, that's great. Anyone in that position can do that. For most presidents, a program like that is an after thought in the writing of the history of their term That's only one part of the commentary, and remember this is an opinion piece to try to improve his legacy. The precsription drug program is a failure by a lot of accounts, and so is no child left behind.
This is true...they could. And when they do, I'm willing to give them credit for it. Because the alternative sucks ass, and we've had that too. Beyond mere funding, these were initiatives the White House brought to Congress. Look, I'm really ready for George W. to be history. I'm very excited about the tone of leadership I see coming. But I can't ignore that this is a good thing.
I agree with this...but too often we attribute everything negative to Bush. Some things are his fault. Some things are not. He was obviously VERY ill-suited to be president of the United States, but I think we tend to dehumanize him a bit too much. Bush Jr. has always struck me as a genuinely nice guy, if somewhat misguided and ill-informed. still, give the man his props for Africa at the very least. If you're going to be bitter about something like this, then I suggest you reflect a bit. Every presidency has some negatives and some positives and while the negatives in this case severely outweighed the positives, this is something very good that Bush has done. You can't begrudge the man everything. He has more then enough negatives to pick on.
wow- even the lami dama loves him some W. Non-violence can't tackle terror: Dalai 18 Jan 2009, 0451 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: The Dalai Lama, a lifelong champion of non-violence on Saturday candidly stated that terrorism cannot be tackled by applying the principle of ahimsa because the minds of terrorists are closed. "It is difficult to deal with terrorism through non-violence," the Tibetan spiritual leader said delivering the Madhavrao Scindia Memorial Lecture here. He also termed terrorism as the worst kind of violence which is not carried by a few mad people but by those who are very brilliant and educated. "They (terrorists) are very brilliant and educated...but a strong ill feeling is bred in them. Their minds are closed," the Dalai Lama said. He said that the only way to tackle terrorism is through prevention. The head of the Tibetan government-in-exile left the audience stunned when he said "I love President George W Bush." He went on to add how he and the US President instantly struck a chord in their first meeting unlike politicians who take a while to develop close ties. Bob Thurman' s head explodes.
believe me, I'm not bitter about this, and i'm just looking foward to when he's gone, i just think if he's going to prop this up to improve his legacy, it should be challenged. if he wasn't putting on this campaign blitz I wouldn't care.
I was unaware of a campaign blitz on this. To the contrary, Geldof criticized him over and over saying he was doing a terrible job of making this clear to the American people. I'm most discouraged by the Dalai Lama abandoning principles of non-violence. That's the worst news I've read here in a while...but that's probably another thread.
campaign blitz maybe strong words, but I've seen this Aids Funding in Africa thing now for a couple of weeks, including him mentioning it in his farewell address. Its obviously a talking point.
Ah, Bill Frist....didnt he lose all credibility when he watched a video of Terry Schiavo and decided to question her physicians' diagnosis despite the fact that he wasn't a neurologist and had not physically examined the patient? I believe he said that it appeared she responded to visual stimuli even though none of her doctors ever saw proof of this. Then again, back then he wanted to run for Prez in 08.
