President Bush: What He's Doing Right

President Bush takes a lot of heat most of the time. Support for the president is not a popular position right now, but I’m willing to run the risk of alienating a large portion of my readership (wishful thinking) in order to bring to your attention three things Bush has done in recent weeks that deserve our applause and should help to convince my more liberally minded friends that the man is not the incompetent (or worse, evil) power you may believe (or wish) him to be.

The first of these is the recent attention Bush has paid to environmental concerns. I realize that as we speak Bush is at the G-8 Summit knocking down Germany’s proposed emissions reduction, an act which will inevitably draw the wrath and ire of environmental activists and doomsday scientists. However, they are overlooking the fact that Bush’s skepticism about this particular proposition stems from an unequal distribution of responsibilities. He believes that efforts to reduce emissions need to include China and India. These nations are two of the heaviest polluters in the industrialized world and are inexplicably uninvolved in the current proposition.

In response, Bush has announced a U.S. led effort to develop a post-2012 framework on climate change which will be completed by the end of 2008. The plan, which will include the world’s major polluters and energy consumers, is designed to ensure both energy and economic security by developing transformational clean energy sources. This won’t be the cure-all by any means, but it is certainly more realistic than telling a country like China to stop polluting.

Bush has also vamped up his humanitarian efforts in recent weeks. Frustrated by what he sees as inaction by the UN, he has been pushing the international community to apply pressure on Sudan to stop the genocide in Darfur. These efforts include increased sanctions, convincing China (which has vast economic interests in the nation) to became an active participant, and forcing Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to allow UN Peacekeepers into the country. He has also threatened unilateral action if conditions don’t improve, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Ideally, Bush’s attempts at diplomacy will force the UN and the international community to fulfill their moral responsibilities.

At the end of May Bush announced a plan to double America’s $15 billion commitment to fight global HIV/AIDS (America is already the largest contributor to this cause, by far). The new commitment of $30 billion (to be spread over the next five years) will go towards life-saving treatment, prevention programs and care for those in need (including orphans and vulnerable children).

I realize that for many people these actions won’t erase the years of questionable decision making or break down the walls of distrust, but they are valiant efforts nonetheless. We must give credit where credit is due, and these three causes championed by Bush are worthy of our admiration and support.

Thanks for reading.