GEORGE W. BUSH: Needs Prompting on AIDS Silence, Writer Says

      While 49 U.S. governors responded to a personal letter from Children Uniting Nations Chair Daphna Ziman requesting assistance in the fight against AIDS in Africa, only Texas Governor George W. Bush, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, failed to respond, according to Cliff Rothman's op-ed in the Los Angeles Times. Rothman assails Bush for his silence during his five-year tenure as the leader of a state that has the nation's fourth-highest number of AIDS cases. Despite Ziman's repeated attempts to elicit a response, Bush failed to acknowledge Ziman's letter, prompting Rothman to argue that it is "telling that Bush alone, among all the governors, ignored Ziman's personal letter." Rothman indicates that Bush has "tuned out" the AIDS epidemic, similar to his father, former President George Bush, who remained silent on the issue during his presidency. Rothman notes that some Texas AIDS advocates, calling Bush "Read-My-Lips-Lite," indicate that George W. is "just like his dad when it comes to AIDS ... the apple [does not] fall very far from the tree." Recognizing the passing of World AIDS Day last week, Rothman concludes that it is "as good a day as any to ask Bush, the current leading contender for the highest political office in the world ... 'Why have you never addressed AIDS?'" (12/6).