Bush for Africa

I was recently sent an article about Bush and his work in Africa, written by a pretty well known guy. It was a good read and I think some great insight on what Bush really is like, and what he isn't. What is so striking about Bush, at least the Bush painted here, is that he is very similar to me or you. An average guy, doesn't know it all, a joker, and a man. He isn't necessarily captivating, but jut an all around nice guy. I've always said that he's the kind of guy that you would love to sit down and have a beer with and watch the game...maybe just not the guy I want holding the nuclear launch codes to enough bombs to erase the planet.
It is important to note and I think was the reason I was sent this article, is that Bush has done a lot for Africa. He takes a lot of flak for saying stupid things and making poor decisions, and his work in Africa has been mostly ignored. It makes the headlines when he tries to go out a lock door or says something funny about someone else, but when he really tries to help out the people in Africa...no one notices. Critics of Bush always mention how he made the case for Iraq based on false information (a founded critique) but never give him credit for any good work done in Africa.
Why is this? Do we just not want to put anything out there good about him? Is the liberal media intent on making him look like an idiot?

I think it has the most to do with the simple fact that it is Africa. Hotel Rwanda (Romeo Dallaire) said it best: No one cares about Africa. People have been fighting and dying in Africa for years, we just don't care. The average American Dream family (white, kids, house, corporate jobs, debt) don't give a rip about much that happens in the rest of the world, and Africa barely makes that list. Every day it is something different. A new war somewhere in Africa. A bunch of people died in Africa. Who cares.

A recent story about 100,000 gorillas being found in Africa made its way to the top of CNN's webpage. The main story was about 100,000 gorillas being found somewhere in the Congo...YEAH! The story was very popular and stayed near the top feed for a few days. The story reapreared a few weeks later when it was discovered that rebels in the Congo had taken over the area where the gorilla preserve was. OH NO!

What's amazing is that all this time there has been serious war going on in Africa, and really the only major story to reach the top of the news was about the danger to some gorillas. Recently there has been more written about the genocides around the world and that this is still continuing in Africa. And we won't care. Gas is cheap again. The economy is down. I am in debt. I don't have time to think about Africa.

I think that Bush takes a beating from the press...and history isn't going to be too kind to him either. A term that started in a time of relative prosperity ends in serious economic trouble. A term that began in "peace" ends with America fighting two wars with no end in sight. What were Bush's contributions to America and our history? Will he be remembered for Africa....??

Does the bad outweigh the good? Do we just hate Bush for no reason?

We remember that Clinton did some good things, but we will always remember Lewinski. He lied. True, he lied about something small that should have never been a public issue or of any importance to the American people but he lied.

Bush lied too. However, when he lied thousands of people died, and trillons of dollars were lost.

And That lie, is a little tougher to swallow.*

*no pun intended