Charming the Reporters

With a 64 percent disapproval rating on how President Bush is handling his job as president (American Research Group, Inc.), it is rare to find an enthusiastic Bush supporter nowadays especially in the liberal loving city of San Francisco. But in Journeys with George, a 2002 documentary about Bush and his gang of reporters on the campaign trail, it is hard not to find President Bush (Governor, at the time)…as hard as it is to admit…likable.

Pushing all bad Bush politics aside, I found myself laughing at the boloney loving Bush, and thinking he’d be a fun guy to throw a beer back with. Throughout the documentary it is clear that the filmmaker, Alexandra Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi’s daughter, likes Bush too, as she falls under the charming spell of the relaxed cowboy from time to time. But in the end, despite Bush’s best rhetoric, Pelosi still ends up voting democratically (good girl). Pelosi didn’t allow her vote to sway from politics to personality, but it makes me wonder, how much a good joke or a friendly smile figures at the ballot box? According to Max Brantley, editor of the Arkansas Times, the charm factor is dishearteningly significant as a slew of national journalists find it more relevant to report on personality rather than policies.

“I’ve really been surprised at the utter absence of reporting that’s been done on Mike Huckabee,” said Brantley in an On the Media interview last week. “There are very legitimate issues on the national stage, whether it’s his fair tax proposal or his stance on some social issues, that deserve some examination, but they’re been put to the side to focus on his jokes and his charming manner and his pardoning of a Rolling Stones guitar player.”

Brantley has reason to be concerned, as he feels that his former Arkansas Governor and current red-hot Republican Presidential candidate is unfairly avoiding national criticism due to his likability factor. In the interview with Brantley, Bob Garfield host of On the Media, summed up Brantley’s complaint by saying, “Huckabee, he says (Brantley), has become the newest darling of the National media without any due diligence. He (Brantley) cites, for instance, a laundry list of Huckabee’s brushes with the Arkansas Ethics Commission, something he wishes those national columnists would take the time to learn about.”

These national columnists include the New York Time’s David Brooks who called Huckabee “funny and engaging,” while New Yorker magazine’s Hendrick Hertzberg finds Huckabee’s rhetoric, “almost impossible not to like.” Brantley finds the lack of actual reporting on Huckabee, a politician he is all too familiar with, to be a disservice to the public. After all, shouldn’t we, as the potential voters, be more concerned with Huckabee’s past mishaps (i.e. using his mansion operating account as a personal expense account when he first become Governor) rather than if he is funny or not? “I think the Bush record didn’t get fully and completely reported until his second term,” said Brantley, who is hoping that history doesn't repeat itself. The last thing the United States needs is to vote for another “funny” president who would be fun to have a beer with…look how well that turned out.

Don't Make a Promise You Can't Keep

And be these juggling fiends no more believed,
That palter with us in a double sense,
That keep the word of promise to our ear,
And break it to our hope.
-Shakespeare in Macbeth

Decoding Shakespeare’s famous words is always a daunting task. Yet from this excerpt I reason that Shakespeare meant, promises are serious-and when broken the results can be devastating. President Bush’s recent promise of combating HIV/AIDS through a five-year plan and $15 billion dollar budget is one promise that we all hope he can keep.

The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was announced by President Bush at the State of the Union address in 2003 and was to occur over the following five years. The plan is the largest commitment ever by a single nation toward an international health initiative with the goal of support for treatment for 2 million HIV infected people, support for prevention of 7 million new infections, and support for care for 10 million people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS (according to PEPFAR). Last Thursday, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Ambassador Mark Dybul and Executive Director of the AIDS Support Organization (TASO), Dr. Alex Coutinho came to the University of San Francisco to discuss PEPFAR amongst Nursing students, African Studies students, and students with a global perspective and concern.

PEPFAR is a plan that incorporates many strategies and partnerships in its fight against HIV/AIDS. One strategy is the ABC (Abstain, Be faithful, and the correct and consistent use of Condoms) approach. Ambassador Dybul said that this approach specifically aids children, as they are able to remember a simple acronym that is often accompanied with a song and dance. “With sensitive topics, especially dealing with sexuality we use music, dance, and drama to make topics non threatening,” said Dr. Coutinho. Methods like ABC are teaching preventative measures in the 150 countries that PEPFAR is associated with. However, PEPFAR specifically focuses in 15 countries, which is where half of the world’s HIV/AIDS disease is: Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanada, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia.

And although results are occurring, “if PEPFAR hits the target, my estimate is that it will avert eight million orphans,” said Dr. Coutinho, there is still much to do. What can we do now? “What’s most important is your compassion,” said Dr. Coutinho who suggested raising money to send over soccer balls which helps children who are infected with HIV/AIDS to rise from the stigma of the disease and enjoy the simple pleasures of childhood. “We need more innovative approaches,” said Ambassador Dybul. “This isn’t just a medical problem, it affects every aspect of life.”

Lets hope Bush and company deliver on their promise. And, we need to take it upon ourselves to do more to help the more than 39 million people currently living with HIV worldwide.

I don’t believe those evil creatures anymore.
They tricked me with their wordgames, raising my hopes
And then destroying them.
-Translated version of Shakespeare's excerpt from Macbeth