I think these are two positive steps for Bush. This was my take on this in the Huffington Post on the Zoellick pick for the World Bank. Bush could have done worse (and did with Wolfowitz). In announcing a proposal to double AIDS funding, after he leaves office, Bush said “Once again, the generosity of the American People is one of the great untold stories of our time.” Given the size of the funding request, $30 billion over five years, this was a fair comment. The good will for such measures is undermined by many other things the U.S. government has been doing overseas, including our policies in Iraq, support for torture, the unwillingness to address global warming, and the bullying on intellectual property rights, and one hopes that we can do better in these other areas too.
UPDATE
This is my Huffpo blog on the $30 billion, based upon a call from Asia Russell. Here is Matthew Kavanagh on the same topic.