Bush saved 10 million lives

[Braaq]

Bush "the Healer"?? Saving millions while killing millions which added up to spending trillions... interesting.

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.

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.

 

[warpig]

 

[tim290280]

Interesting.

Especially since the sex education campaigns they have supported in African nations revolve around abstinence. Not that the condom campaign was much better (they demonstrated on bananas so guess what the Africans did with the condoms to protect themselves....).

 

[Duality]

Interesting.

Especially since the sex education campaigns they have supported in African nations revolve around abstinence. Not that the condom campaign was much better (they demonstrated on bananas so guess what the Africans did with the condoms to protect themselves....).

if these people aren't willing to help themselves they shouldn't be helped. i completely support us going over there and trying to preach healthier lifestyles for them, but if they're not going to practice it stop wasting money.

 

[tim290280]

^^

So you willingly went to school every single day of your life???

I'm not saying that we should throw good money after bad, but the successfull have a responsibility to lift their fellow man up, not knock them down further. Half of my frustration is with ignorance, especially ingrained ignorance. The only way that can be improved upon is by actual efforts to educate people.

 

[Tech]

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.

The No Child Left Behind Act is probably the worst thing to ever happen to the school system.

 

[TJ]

The No Child Left Behind Act is probably the worst thing to ever happen to the school system.

So true; it put the burden of parenting on the teachers.

 

[Ironslave]

The No Child Left Behind Act is probably the worst thing to ever happen to the school system.

No doubt. I think the reason why so many think it is a good thing is because it has a name that "sounds good". .... and it's not an area as obvious to see through like "operation Iraqi Freedom".

 

[Tech]

No doubt. I think the reason why so many think it is a good thing is because it has a name that "sounds good". .... and it's not an area as obvious to see through like "operation Iraqi Freedom".

 

[Duality]

^^

So you willingly went to school every single day of your life???

I'm not saying that we should throw good money after bad, but the successfull have a responsibility to lift their fellow man up, not knock them down further. Half of my frustration is with ignorance, especially ingrained ignorance. The only way that can be improved upon is by actual efforts to educate people.

wow i'm not advocating "knocking down" africa at all. we've tried to help them many many times and so have other nations. they don't get it. they aren't trying to get it. it doesn't take that much knowledge to use a f#%&*$ condom! you can't help people unless they're willing to help themselves.

 

[Ironslave]

wow i'm not advocating "knocking down" africa at all. we've tried to help them many many times and so have other nations. they don't get it. they aren't trying to get it. it doesn't take that much knowledge to use a f#%&*$ condom! you can't help people unless they're willing to help themselves.

agreed.... you yourself can't even help your training partner in this regard.

 

[Braaq]

agreed.... you yourself can't even help your training partner in this regard.

Hey!?! :angrydude:


:bball:

 

[Duality]

agreed.... you yourself can't even help your training partner in this regard.

i keep trying to tell him......

 

[Braaq]

i keep trying to tell him......

25 years AIDS free

 

[tim290280]

wow i'm not advocating "knocking down" africa at all. we've tried to help them many many times and so have other nations. they don't get it. they aren't trying to get it. it doesn't take that much knowledge to use a f#%&*$ condom! you can't help people unless they're willing to help themselves.

They just don't get it???

You are introducing a whole new concept to them at the same time the Catholic church is activily sabotaging this education campaign. And it took decades to get Western countries to use condoms and drop the rate of HIV infection, and condom/contraception usage rates drop off all the time until you have a renewed education program to target people (who have already been educated) to remind them.

Plus African nations are not exactly supported well by other countries. The World Bank charges more in interest every day than the nations receive in foreign aid. Governments have dictators installed so as to stabilise the area. As a result you have Govts that actively remove schooling programs and education in general and control food supplies to create a subserviant culture. All funded and supported by foreign countries like the USA.

So remind me how you can ignore helping people "who won't help themselves" when they battle to get enough food every day, let alone fight a corrupt system installed by foreign powers.

 

[Tech]

They just don't get it???

You are introducing a whole new concept to them at the same time the Catholic church is activily sabotaging this education campaign. And it took decades to get Western countries to use condoms and drop the rate of HIV infection, and condom/contraception usage rates drop off all the time until you have a renewed education program to target people (who have already been educated) to remind them.

Plus African nations are not exactly supported well by other countries. The World Bank charges more in interest every day than the nations receive in foreign aid. Governments have dictators installed so as to stabilise the area. As a result you have Govts that actively remove schooling programs and education in general and control food supplies to create a subserviant culture. All funded and supported by foreign countries like the USA.

So remind me how you can ignore helping people "who won't help themselves" when they battle to get enough food every day, let alone fight a corrupt system installed by foreign powers.

seems somewhat contradictive.

you say we (the US) are ruining their governments by getting involved, yet you seem to think we should get involved by educating them?

maybe it's just me, but I believe the US government should only concern itself with US affairs.....mainly because when we involve ourselves in other countries, we tend to completely fuck it up.

 

[theweapon]

seems somewhat contradictive.

you say we (the US) are ruining their governments by getting involved, yet you seem to think we should get involved by educating them?

maybe it's just me, but I believe the US government should only concern itself with US affairs.....mainly because when we involve ourselves in other countries, we tend to completely fuck it up.

True.

IMO we need to worry about educating our own. we have TOO many problems to be helping others we really we arent helping ourselves. schools in the US are a joke, i had a teacher tell me when he went to a teachers conference, that they are trying to promote kids to drop out cause the schools have too many students, half of my class droped out. they dont help kids get into college, they dont care. i didnt do shit in high school to be honest with you and when i would ask questions they would completely ignore me so i never got the help i needed, i even took a shit load of afternoon and night school classes and nothing they dont motivate kids to get an education, why should we care about other countries? i think we should help other countrys and promote education but after we fix our situation. i never had a teacher/counselor talk to me about college or anything or give me any advice or direction, which is why society is so fucked. which results into crimes/drugs and so on.

sorry if i may have stirred away from the topic.

 

[theweapon]

25 years AIDS free

you have to be getting pussy in order to risk getting AIDS. :iorofl:

 

[Braaq]

you have to be getting pussy in order to risk getting AIDS. :iorofl:

:bball:

 

[Duality]

seems somewhat contradictive.

you say we (the US) are ruining their governments by getting involved, yet you seem to think we should get involved by educating them?

maybe it's just me, but I believe the US government should only concern itself with US affairs.....mainly because when we involve ourselves in other countries, we tend to completely fuck it up.

you're not the only one


we have more than enough problems here at HOME, we need to stop meddling with other countries problems and help our own first before sending aid to anyone else.

Ron Paul made a great comment about this when he was addressing how much "foreign aid" we were sending to georgia a couple months ago. we need to put our effort towards helping our own first and foremost.