What Is Bush Doing Listening To Bono?

What does Bono know about debt forgiveness? Here's a man who's played for a living -- a living that is beyond anything most of us can imagine, a man with no reality-based concept of wealth. Yet this man convinced George Bush to forgive the debt of poor African nations.

Just as people get character from facing responsibility and working through it, so do nations. As taxpayers in a wealthy country, we can afford to let this debt go, but as people who care about the future of Africa, we need to understand that our president made a mistake, and the future of Africa will be hurt by it.

Oh, the packaging is pretty. Dictatators are supposed to clean up their act. Money spent on debt relief is supposed to be sent on human relief. But does anyone believe this will happen? A bunch of self-centered, immoral governments just got off the hook for their bad behavior; what will make them think they need to change?

Will it work because now they're going to be monitored? Oh, please. These governments are quite adept at lying and covering up, and the G8 are quite adept at not being able to see. Even if they did find shocking evidence that some tinpot exploiter of the people wasn't following the rules, what teeth do they have? Would these ineffective parents of spoiled children ever inforce discipline on this unruly bunch?

Readers of CSM know I care about Africa. And I worry we just did 'em wrong again.