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kerry praises bush?
It’s a beautiful thing when the same old same old doesn’t repeat itself. Like the rest of the planet I’m so distressed by what’s happened in Iraq. And the lack of any national leadership to face the fact of our dependence on fossils fuels. But tucked into all this disappointment is the plain fact that George Bush has led the charge to dedicate more money to AIDS relief in Africa than any other president. Article in the NYT quotes Kerry praising Bush as a matter of fact.
For all of Clinton’s rhetoric on Africa, the money didn’t come. I’m sure the Congress he was working with didn’t make it any easier at the time. Then Bono took the treasury secretary to Africa, and eyes started to open. Too bad ideologues have hamstrung the use of the money. The official teaching of the world’s largest Christian organization forbids the use of condoms, the cheapest and most widely effective means to slow the spread of the AIDS epidemic. I talked with a leader in World Vision, the evangelical relief agency, who said one of the most powerful evangelical lobby groups also pressed them not to distribute condoms.
All this hurts, but the money released under the leadership of the president helps, and credit should be given where it’s due. And Kerry praising Bush is something no one expected. If there’s no rejoicing in the good, the bad is left to make all the noise.
