"This is a guy who showed up to solve problems,'" Bush said

[IDemo]

Bush uses final 50 days in office to tout legacy

By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer Ben Feller, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 20 mins ago

WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush says history will judge him, but he is getting his own crack first. Bush is using his final 50 days in office to tout his legacy, hoping to leave a lasting impression of overshadowed progress. On Monday, World AIDS Day, Bush was heralded for his leadership in fighting the disease, a point that even his Democratic critics readily concede.

The anti-AIDS program Bush championed in 2003 has delivered lifesaving medicine to more than 2 million people in five years, up from 50,000 people before it began. Many of those helped live in impoverished sub-Saharan Africa, where AIDS is the leading killer.

"I would hope that when it's all said and done, people say, `This is a guy who showed up to solve problems,'" Bush said at a global health forum. "And when you have somebody say there's a pandemic that you can help, and you do nothing about it, then you have frankly disgraced the office."

For most of his last year in office, Bush has shied away from legacy talk for two reasons. One is that he did not want to seem as if he were looking back when he was still running the country. The other is that he did not want to get dragged into the 2008 presidential campaign by defending his record.

-- never let anyone say that you ever disgraced the office, George....

[Xipe Totec]

1. Come to the Hancock Tower, George, if you want to leave a lasting impression

and get a good running start.

[Demeter]

2. This Is a Guy Who Showed Up To CAUSE Problems

and he succeeded beyond his wildest expectations.

[catnhatnh]

3. Uh....Katrina???????? N/T