Editorials -- Bush AIDS appointee shows understanding, compassion

Bush AIDS appointee shows understanding, compassion

Another fine and fitting appointment by the Bush administration. We must give credit where credit is due and it is due in the naming of Scott Evertz, picked recently to head the White House Office of National AIDS Policy.

Evertz, 38, reportedly is the first openly gay person to be chosen for an appointment by any Republican administration, but much more than that revolutionary step, he has gratefully vowed to focus his efforts at eradicating the worldwide scourge in U.S. communities of color and in Africa, where as many as one out of eight adults are said to be affected by the debilitating disease in some areas.

"Communities of color (in the U.S.) continue to be disproportionately affected with HIV and AIDS and that requires developing strategies to prevent the disease and to reach out to those affected with it," Mr. Evertz said, wisely acknowledging that the AIDS epidemic requires more than just a passive policy of simply handing over drugs to help people live with AIDS and HIV.

"The challenges are enormous, particularly as we look to the continent of Africa," he said. "We need to offer the best and the brightest from this country" in dealing with the AIDS crisis.

We trust that Mr. Evertz will hold true to his dual vows to dauntlessly battle AIDS here in America and abroad. And we urge the Bush administration and Americans of all persuasions to give him the support he needs in this winnable war to corner and hopefully vanquish the AIDS epidemic.

Article Copyright Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.