Bush Administration Aims to Burnish Its Record

John D. McKinnon reports on the White House. The Bush administration is launching a quiet effort to burnish its record, perhaps as much for the benefit of future historians as for a skeptical contemporary public. The White House is expected to roll out a series of retrospectives on President George W. Bush ’s achievements throughout the month of December, as the administration prepares to leave office in January. On Monday, in remarks at the White House, Bush started with a recap of his substantial accomplishments on AIDS relief. Then he attended a morning forum at Washington’s Newseum sponsored by the Saddleback Church. Its pastor, Rick Warren , has been an outspoken advocate for addressing global pandemics. The Bush administration’s PEPFAR program (for President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) has so far supported treatment for two million people over five years. It’s reached that goal slightly ahead of schedule, the White House announced on Sunday. At the time of PEPFAR’s creation, ... (link)