Bush is in Africa?

Irish rock’n’roller and Band Aid/Live Aid organizer Bob “Rip Van Winkle” Geldof has apparently been unaware that President Bush doesn’t get a fair shake from time to time from the press.

While speaking to reporters who were waiting for a press conference with Bush and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Geldof praised Bush for spending billions of U.S. dollars on Africa to fight disease and poverty while slamming the press corps for largely ignoring it.

Here’s Bob, who like us, doesn’t like Mondays:

"This is the triumph of American policy really," he said. "It was probably unexpected of the man. It was expected of the nation, but not of the man, but both rose to the occasion."
"What's in it for [Mr. Bush]? Absolutely nothing," Mr. Geldof said.
Mr. Geldof said that the president has failed "to articulate this to Americans" but said he is also "pissed off" at the press for their failure to report on this good news story.
"You guys didn't pay attention," Geldof said to a group of reporters from all the major newspapers. Story here.

In fact, we were vaguely aware that Bush was over there or was scheduled to be over there in the very near future. We let our minds wander, though, to fantasize about the spectacle this would’ve been had it been Himself, America’s first black President, descending upon Africa to “make it rain” U.S. dollar bills on the dark continent. Pure rapture and unbridled adulation, we believe.

But he didn’t and you gotta think Geldof saying Bush has done more for Africa than any other U.S. President has to chap Himself’s hide. First, Bush stole his 9/11 moment and now he has the audacity to be given credit by some long-haired, F.M. radio type for doing more for Clinton’s own people than Clinton, himself! Another revisionist legacy-building opportunity shot to hell.

With his own chances of performing some Lincoln Bedroom fundraising looking slimmer and slimmer every day, these can’t be good times for ol’ boy.

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(The picture above captures the dramatically hideous moment when the man to Bush's left snapped his own neck as a result of a violent whiplash that was an involuntary response to witnessing Bush perform his tribe's dance. Perhaps to avoid further tragedies such as this, the Bush Africa policy should also provide Africa with tapes of American caucasian wedding receptions to better socialize the people of Africa so they aren't caught off-guard in their initial face-to-face encounter with these unfortunate situations).