ABC Hyped Bill Clinton's Work to 'Save a Continent,' But Skipped George W. Bush in Africa
When Bill Clinton went to Africa in 2007 to fight AIDS, ABC hyped his
important work "to save a continent." Diane Sawyer interviewed the
ex-President and Kate Snow followed him to Africa. However, the same
network has, thus far, skipped former President George W. Bush's efforts
to fight cancer in the same area.
On the July 24, 2007, Good Morning America, Kate Snow excitedly related, "In Africa, they seem to be on a first-name basis with the former president, shouting 'Bill! Bill!'" On the July 20th
GMA, Diane Sawyer hyped, "And President Bill Clinton weighs in,
speaking out on the war, his work to save a continent..." Instead of
praising Bush's work, Tuesday, the morning show devoted two segments to
the divorce of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
CBS
and NBC have also skipped the story. MSNBC's Chris Jansing explained,
Tuesday, "And former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura are in
Africa where they helped renovate a women's cancer screening center in
Zambia...The Bush's are promoting a partnership to fight cervical and
breast cancer in Sub Saharan Africa."
Unfortunately, unlike Kate Snow's story, there were no reports on whether Bush's name was chanted.
Politico had more on the visit:
President George W. Bush and Laura Bush are spending this week in Africa to launch a partnership to detect and fight cervical cancer.
The Bushes and their team started in Kabwe, Zambia, where they led a team of volunteers as they finished renovating the Ngungu Health Clinic. After the Bushes cut the ribbon on Tuesday, the clinic immediately began screening women for cervical cancer and treating them.
Bush’s message in his conversations in Africa has been that everyone should serve, and that to whom much is given, much is required – a point he often made when talking about the United States and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which he started while in office.
