With the era of Barack Obama beginning and the era of President Bush near its completion, many look back on George W. Bush’s eight-year term in office as a disappointment. He was in power for the recession of the American economy and the dramatic decline of major American auto industries. He set a record amount of days for being on vacation, had shoes thrown at him by an Iraqi journalist and was certainly the brunt of many jokes, whether it be nearly choking on a pretzel or saying, “If it feels good do it; if you’ve got a problem blame somebody else.”
The War in Iraq is perhaps the greatest flaw in Bush’s regime from an American perspective. Under the cover of searching for weapons of mass destruction, the Bush regime invaded Iraq leading to the death of many innocent Iraqi civilians and many American soldiers. Adding salt to the wound is the fact that no weapons of mass destruction were ever found – a detail that has led many to distrust the American president.
The complaints against the Bush regime are justified and fair, but people are quick to forget the good things he did for America and the world. Yes, that is correct: I said “good things.”
After 9/11 Bush proved to be a dynamic leader as he stood on the rubble of the World Trade Centre and declared, “The people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” His speech led the hundreds of fire fighters on site to chant “U.S.A! U.S.A!” and his courage throughout the aftermath of 9/11 helped unite the country. His leadership helped heal many of the wounds involved with the catastrophe, and his courage was the major reason for his re-election for a second term in office.
Although Bush’s leadership after the 9/11 attacks was admirable, it pales in comparison to his accomplishments with regards to foreign aid. In 2003, Bush announced the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief or PEPFAR. Before Bush unveiled the plan only 50,000 people with AIDS living in Africa were able to receive antiretroviral drugs.
Today, merely five years later, over two million AIDS victims in Africa can receive lifesaving and life prolonging antiretroviral drugs. In fact, according to Relevant Magazine, PEPFAR has also provided education for Africans, which has led to an estimated “eight million people not contracting the disease who otherwise would have.”
The success of PEPFAR is astounding and it led Pastor Rick Warren to declare that, “No man in history, no world leader, has done more for global health than George W. Bush.”
Bush himself has stated that he believes in the universality of freedom, which includes the freedom from disease, depravity and hunger. The feelings for Bush in Africa differ drastically from other parts of the world as people have lined the streets of Tanzania during a visit aspiring to catch a glimpse of their hero, the American President.
Many people view Bush as a tyrant and a laughable leader. However, his efforts to combat the AIDS crisis were remarkable, counter cultural and lifesaving. We can gain a different perspective on the legacy of George W. Bush if we pretend to be in the shoes of an AIDS victim in Africa who has been given a chance to live.
