WaPost: 'Obama yet to leave a lasting legacy for Africa on the scale of Bush and Clinton'

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig-xLr7IN3Q3pN_zBAieochku5BCuOXMS5FbJNwShAVcFCMaetejkbB0qCSEet0Bw3WoWol9KUBhQ2XS1gMH_jAaYdyKNc6Pxnf7SH6b5Qnm-xsb_7W2HJDBR43tw1OwJ0XMJlW9s3kxc9/s720/George+W.+Bush+20+Africa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig-xLr7IN3Q3pN_zBAieochku5BCuOXMS5FbJNwShAVcFCMaetejkbB0qCSEet0Bw3WoWol9KUBhQ2XS1gMH_jAaYdyKNc6Pxnf7SH6b5Qnm-xsb_7W2HJDBR43tw1OwJ0XMJlW9s3kxc9/s400/George+W.+Bush+20+Africa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Laura and George W. Bush in Zambia, June 30, 2013.</i></div><br />The pictures are all over Facebook showing Former President George W. Bush and wife Laura traveling Africa this week as they continue their humanitarian mission that began before leaving the White House four years ago.<br /><br />Slowly but surely liberals have begrudingly had to admit GWB has played a large role in <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/bush-aids-policies-shadow-obama-in-africa/2013/06/30/0c8e023c-e1ac-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html?tid=pm_world_pop">AIDs relief</a> that has been credited with saving millions of lives. The Bushes have been <a href="http://bearingdrift.com/2012/04/03/george-w-bush-not-endorsing-in-presidential-primary-is-no-mystery/">instrumental in other global health advances</a>, too, and are almost revered in that part of the world. <br /><br />President Barack Obama? Not so much, and the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/obama-yet-to-leave-a-lasting-legacy-for-africa-on-the-scale-of-bush-and-clinton/2013/06/28/2d47d9f2-dfc3-11e2-8cf3-35c1113cfcc5_story_1.html">Washington Post</a> has noticed:<br /><blockquote>Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush passed innovative Africa initiatives while in the White House and passionately continue their development work in the region in their presidential afterlife. Obama’s efforts here have not been so ambitious, despite his personal ties to the continent.</blockquote>It must be a tad awkward for Obama to find himself in Bush's shadow after spending the first four years of his administration blaming his predecessor for everything that went wrong in America. The Post notes that Obama is five years into his administration and just now on a major tour of Africa, just the second time while President:<br /><blockquote>His first major tour of Africa as president is coming just now, in his fifth year, while Bush and Clinton are frequent fliers to Africa. Bush even will be in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, next week at the same time as Obama, although they have no plans to meet. Instead, their wives plan to appear together at a summit on empowering African women organized by the George W. Bush Institute, with the former president in attendance.</blockquote>The people of Africa had expected more from America's first black president after he told them in his first year, "I have the blood of Africa in me."<br /><br />Meanwhile, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush captured the heart of Africa with work that continues to this day:<br /><blockquote>Clinton first drew extensive attention to Africa in 1998 when he made the longest trip ever by a U.S. president, with stops in six countries that had never before been visited by any occupant of the Oval Office. Bush’s trip this week is his third in 19 months to promote his Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partnership to combat breast and cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. On this visit, he and his wife, Laura, plan to help renovate a cervical cancer screening and treatment clinic in Zambia before heading to Tanzania for the African First Ladies Summit advocating investment in programs for women and girls.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJI7N-R5ei14mySuFZE6ERRnUWTtuuULYNs3nQMCoTgzejuA9JbBUdOvurO4dnEkuOCLX3eMm3x8MbuVPiWd0d_X1Xvz9h83rTxg-ghPiSX_ynUoTUBiHfeG0mETAI7-4yIUgnpbEHa5jU/s640/George+W.+Bush+21+Afrida.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJI7N-R5ei14mySuFZE6ERRnUWTtuuULYNs3nQMCoTgzejuA9JbBUdOvurO4dnEkuOCLX3eMm3x8MbuVPiWd0d_X1Xvz9h83rTxg-ghPiSX_ynUoTUBiHfeG0mETAI7-4yIUgnpbEHa5jU/s400/George+W.+Bush+21+Afrida.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>After a week of renovating, President and Mrs. Bush opened the Mosi-Oa-Tunya clinic, a cervical cancer facility in Livingstone, Zambia. Their trip demonstrates their continued commitment to the people of Africa through the work of the global health initiative at the George W. Bush Institute. June 30, 2013</i></div><br />Photos from the <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBushCenter?fref=ts">George W. Bush Presidential Center</a></i>

Africa AIDS Relief Barack Obama Bill Clinton George W. Bush George W. Bush Presidential Center humanitarian mission Laura Bush Washington Post Zambia WaPost: 'Obama yet to leave a lasting legacy for Africa on the scale of Bush and Clinton'

Laura and George W. Bush in Zambia, June 30, 2013. The pictures are all over Facebook showing Former President George W. Bush and wife Laura...

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Former President Bush 43 sees popularity rise

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0O3sWUsVxPRvHGGp-848UkdtypmMBogDxO0A8VH2ofF_Ody9MI2Ak3TOsT-VKlNujKFySebrLqW4OIGDsF0yznT5qaKFbcJF179ISRsWhTsjLk_DwI61A8T31HLlWe4in-jjyVBiUCd6/s1600/George+W.+Bush+19+approval+rating.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0O3sWUsVxPRvHGGp-848UkdtypmMBogDxO0A8VH2ofF_Ody9MI2Ak3TOsT-VKlNujKFySebrLqW4OIGDsF0yznT5qaKFbcJF179ISRsWhTsjLk_DwI61A8T31HLlWe4in-jjyVBiUCd6/s400/George+W.+Bush+19+approval+rating.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br />As clearly shown on this <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/163022/former-president-george-bush-image-ratings-improve.aspx">Gallup chart</a>, former President George W. Bush's favorable ratings are now higher than his unfavorable for the first time since 2005. He spent his second term in office being pounded on by the left but, after four years of staying busy but keeping a low public profile, the President's ratings are on the mend. Glad to see it ... he deserves it.

favorable ratings Gallup Poll George W. Bush history war-time president Former President Bush 43 sees popularity rise

As clearly shown on this Gallup chart , former President George W. Bush's favorable ratings are now higher than his unfavorable for the ...

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Eric Cantor encourages citizen legislators with Cosponsor.gov

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDwxq1hXeD2vd-60T9dytGXaBLCOl-OfK3NK2703eNPpudI_mFvMfl5IV0EPDddH9ZAtyaGm48q9feXSClJvoBiTjkyTq0JECeBjCMVk2tJfh7Pd_fh5jjLArH_o7VBUjEQYuRFt44Dvt/s1600/47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDwxq1hXeD2vd-60T9dytGXaBLCOl-OfK3NK2703eNPpudI_mFvMfl5IV0EPDddH9ZAtyaGm48q9feXSClJvoBiTjkyTq0JECeBjCMVk2tJfh7Pd_fh5jjLArH_o7VBUjEQYuRFt44Dvt/s320/47.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Eric Cantor addresses the crowd at his annual Republican Roundup.</i></div><br />In an effort to make it easier for Americans to be more involved in the legislative process, <a href="http://cantor.house.gov/">House Majority Leader Eric Cantor</a> (R-7th) launched a new website on Tuesday called <a href="http://cosponsor.gov/">cosponsor.gov.</a><br /><br />This latest addition to the Citizen Cosponsor Project provides the opportunity to be citizen legislators by cosponsoring bills they support and track them in a user-friendly way, lessening the bureaucratic maze of Washington, D.C. By using social media, Citizen Cosponsors are updated on the status of their bills through a Facebook app as they move through the various stages of the legislative process.<br /><br />Anne Sorock at <a href="http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/06/with-cosponsor-gov-eric-cantor-joins-growing-crowd-of-marketer-legislators/">Legal Insurrection</a> praised the <a href="http://majorityleader.gov/">Majority Leader's</a> presence in social media:<br /><blockquote>Noticed the trend of legislators going beyond issuing press releases and fully embracing social media to distribute and market their point-of-view?<br /><br />Rep. Darrell Issa has been especially active in marketing himself and his committee’s activities, including design-heavy graphics and an active twitter account.<br /><br />Today Rep. Eric Cantor’s office launched a new website, Cosponsor.gov, which allows anyone to show their support for bills by clicking a link to “cosponsor” a given bill. </blockquote>Dana Perino commented on Tuesday's Fox News Channel's "The Five" about the new user-friendly tool, noting it was a good way to connect citizens with government. Perino was White House press secretary during George W. Bush's administration.<br /><br />Marking the launch of the new site, <a href="http://cantor.house.gov/">Congressman Cantor</a> noted:<br /><blockquote>“We live in a digital world. As House Majority Leader, I am committed to exploring new and innovative ways to foster a national conversation and improve communication between the American people and their elected officials.<br /><br />“The launch of Cosponsor.Gov is a sweeping expansion of our Citizen Cosponsor Project. The new website will now feature every bill and resolution introduced in the House, from Republicans and Democrats. I’m excited that any engaged citizen can voice their support, and track the status of legislation in the House.<br /><br />“The best part of this new website is it’s accessibility and simplicity. You can search by title, sponsor or bill number or browse issue areas and the tracker shows you exactly where the bill stands.<br /><br />“Whether you want to support new legislation like the Kids First Research Act or show support for legislation that has already passed the House, like the Working Families Flexibility Act, you can do so here.<br /><br />“Transparency, open government and engagement should be a key goal of all elected leaders in Washington, and Cosponsor.Gov is one step in that direction. Please visit Cosponsor.Gov and tell us what you care about. We are listening.” </blockquote>The Citizen Cosponsor Project was developed by the Office of the House Majority Leader and is built on Facebook's Open Graph platform. It uses House #OpenData sets released through the House Majority's #OpenGov initiative.

cosponsor.gov Dana Perino Eric Cantor Fox News Channel George W. Bush Legal Insurrection Majority Leader The Five U.S. House of Representatives Eric Cantor encourages citizen legislators with Cosponsor.gov

  Eric Cantor addresses the crowd at his annual Republican Roundup. In an effort to make it easier for Americans to be more involved in the ...

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How the GOP lost the youth vote

<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/gop-youth-vote-report-92119.html#ixzz2V6bNryiT">Politico</a> reports the College Republican National Committee will release a dismal report on Monday detailing why the GOP has lost the youth vote. Among the reasons listed:<br /><blockquote><b>Gay marriage:</b> “On the ‘open-minded’ issue … [w]e will face serious difficulty so long as the issue of gay marriage remains on the table.”<br /><br /><b>Hispanics:</b> “Latino voters … tend to think the GOP couldn’t care less about them.”<br /><br /><b>Perception of the party’s economic stance: </b>“We’ve become the party that will pat you on your back when you make it, but won’t offer you a hand to help you get there.”<br /><br /><b>Big reason for the image problem: </b>The “outrageous statements made by errant Republican voices.”<br /><br /><b>Words that up-for-grabs voters associate with the GOP:</b> “The responses were brutal: closed-minded, racist, rigid, old-fashioned.”</blockquote>President George W. Bush received rave reviews for attracting the youth vote as well as President Ronald Reagan. Politico noted:<br /><blockquote>“[The] Republican Party has won the youth vote before and can absolutely win it again,” the report says, pointing to presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush who were competitive with that demographic. “But this will not occur without significant work to repair the damage done to the Republican brand among this age group over the last decade.”</blockquote>The entire article can be <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/gop-youth-vote-report-92119.html">read here</a>.

College Republican National Committee George W. Bush GOP Politico Ronald Reagan How the GOP lost the youth vote

Politico reports the College Republican National Committee will release a dismal report on Monday detailing why the GOP has lost the youth ...

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