From the beginning of his administration, President Bush has pushed for more aid to Africa. Motivated perhaps by his deeply felt Christian faith (relieving poverty in Africa has become a major charitable push among evangelicals), the president has pressed for greater aid to Africa across the board. The original PEPFAR legislation (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), which passed in 2003, was the largest single health investment by any government ever ($15 billion). At the time the initiative was launched, only about 50,000 sub-Saharan Africans were receiving antiretroviral treatment for AIDS. Today, 1.7 million people in the region, as well as tens of thousands more around the globe, are receiving such treatment. PEPFAR has also funded efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the AIDS virus, provided compassionate care to the sick and dying, and cared for 5 million orphans. One aspect of the program has been to reduce the stigma of the AIDS diagnosis in Africa.

In July of this year, the president requested that funding for PEPFAR be doubled to $30 billion. The new funding will be used to train 140,000 new health-care workers. It would also address other illnesses, like tuberculosis, that often complicate AIDS.

The president also backed a malaria initiative that has provided an estimated 25 million Africans with nets, spraying, and other prevention and treatment options. Separate from the AIDS funds, the president has tripled development assistance and humanitarian aid to Africa since taking office.

This victory and accomplishment for President Bush is, sadly, lost amongst his administration’s many failures and controversies.  I am disappointed I didn’t know this.  As my professor pointed out, “he’s not all bad.”  President Bush certainly deserves some well-deserved credit here.

(Nod: The Daily Dish)

For example, let us not forget:

Alberto Gonzales- Attorney General
As reported by the Washington Post:

• Mr. Gonzales resigned as a result of the controversy surrounding selective U.S. Attorney firings that appeared to be politically motivated.
• He was also mired in controversy regarding the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, his redefinition of what legally qualifies as torture, and other applications of the Patriot Act.
• He has been accused of destroying the credibility of the Justice Department’s political independence by politicizing the department’s hiring and prosecution priorities
• Repeated calls for his resignation came from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress.
• Mr. Gonzales repeatedly angered lawmakers by saying that he could not recall key episodes and details related to the U.S. attorneys’ dismissals, testifying nearly 70 times at one hearing alone that he could not remember specific events.
• Justice investigators have said they are examining whether Gonzales purposely misled Congress or attempted to improperly influence a witness in his employ.

(Nod: Dad)

A terrorist surveillance program instituted by the Bush administration allows the intelligence community to monitor phone calls between the United States and overseas without a court order—as long as one party to the call is a terror suspect.

Adrienne Kinne, a former U.S. Army Reserves Arab linguist, told ABC News the NSA was listening to the phone calls of U.S. military officers, journalists and aid workers overseas who were talking about “personal, private things with Americans who are not in any way, shape or form associated with anything to do with terrorism.”

This is how it starts—and one reason why the Patriot Act is dangerous.  We already have “unpersons” (enemy combatants), and now surveillance is being stepped-up.  Next come the Thought Police and the Ministries of Truth and Love.  George Orwell is someone I’d not like to see proven right.

Eventually, the Bush Administration will be held accountable for the war crimes they authorized and pursued.

(Nod: The Daily Dish)

• The Department of Homeland (In)Security
• The Patriot Act
• The Iraq war

How did all those turn out?  Yeah, so let’s take the time to think about this one.

The former AG said in his speech about the Bush Administration:

It will take years for the entire story to be told. We know the first manuscripts of administrations are often incomplete, and they can be inaccurate, and they have to be discarded.

Yes, he’s exactly right on this one. It will take years to hear the entire story of what went on in this administration. The “first manuscript” of this administration is incomplete because we’re only being told what they want us to hear. Expect more stories like this one from former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan (on the Valerie Plame case):

I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President’s chief of staff, and the president himself.

A new American Research Group poll finds that 64% of American voters say that President Bush has abused his powers as president and 70% say that Vice President Dick Cheney has abused his powers as vice president.

Well that’s great, but how many people in Congress believe that too and are actually willing to do their job and do something about it? Two? Maybe three?