He Don't Like Mondays -

He Don't Like Mondays - This story stuns me.

Sir Bob Geldof, of "Live Aid" and "Do They Know It's Christmas" fame, offers explicit praise...

...to George Bush.

I had to read this a few times before I believed it myself:

"You'll think I'm off my trolley when I say this, but the Bush administration is the most radical - in a positive sense - in its approach to Africa since Kennedy," Geldof told the Guardian.

The neo-conservatives and religious rightwingers who surrounded President George Bush were proving unexpectedly receptive to appeals for help, he said. "You can get the weirdest politicians on your side."

Former president Bill Clinton had not helped Africa much, despite his high-profile visits and apparent empathy with the downtrodden, the organiser of Live Aid, claimed. "Clinton was a good guy, but he did fuck all."

I'll omit the obligatory crack about how that quote sums up Clinton's approach to nearly everything during his entire eight years in office.

Aid activist Lord Alli echoed Geldof:

"Clinton talked the talk and did diddly squat, whereas Bush doesn't talk, but does deliver," Lord Alli said.

This triggers two observations:

• This backs up an observation I made repeatedly during the Clinton years; the Administration was obsessed with "sending messages". These "messages" were almost invariably dressed up with all of the trappings of genuine sincerity; they were also almost invariably worthless. The Clinton Administration's policy in so many areas mirrored their approach to terrorism; focus-group approved words punctuated by a (rhetorical as well as literal) missile crashing into empty tents - and nothing more.
• I wonder how long it'll be before Bob Geldof finds himself ostracized by the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) community that has treated him as a secular saint for the last twenty years?

Whatever - it's fascinating to read. Check out the article.

It occurs to me that there's an entire generation out there who knows of Sir Bob Geldof only as a humanitarian, and has no concept of The Boomtown Rats.

(Via Instapundit)

Posted by Mitch at May 28, 2003 07:34 AM