Damon Defends Bush on AIDS Relief Funding, Makes Excuses for Obama

Matt Damon is still on President Barack Obama’s Hope and Change Express. He simply took a detour last week to give props to a leader who took action on an issue dear to the actor’s heart – George W. Bush.

The liberal actor told The Atlantic he would “kiss George W. Bush on the mouth” for his efforts funding PEPFAR, an AIDS relief initiative. Damon just wished he could do some puckering up for Obama. 

You would have expected that Obama, with his reputation as a pragmatist, would look at PEPFAR, looked at how effective it is, and thought that he should make similar investments in other issues, definitely water and sanitation,” he said.

Still, Damon isn’t totally down on Obama.

“It’s a different world now than it was when Bush was president. It’s a harder sell. People are totally preoccupied with things here,” he said. “…I’m still on hope and change. I’m saying it all comes through in the second term.