“He ought
to be giving this speech, not me.”  These were President George W. Bush’s words
when he referred to Maryknoll Father Edward Phillips sitting in the second row
in the  Dwight E. Eisenhower Executive
Office Building in Washington, DC during a speech on 31 January, 2003.  Bush proposed that the United States devote $15 billion to
fight the AIDS pandemic overseas especially in Africa.  Phillips is the managing
director of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi, Kenya’s Eastern Deanery AIDS
Relief Program.  In emphasizing that the United States will work with all kinds
of faith-based programs involved on the continent of Africa, Bush said:

    A fellow named
Father Edward Phillips is here. Where are you, Father?  Right there, yes.  I
thought you were Father Edward Phillips for a minute. (Laughter.)  He is in
Kenya, works in Kenya.  He’s obviously followed his faith.  He leads an
organization that provides testing and treatment in Nairobi.  He’s helped
thousands of people every year.  He ought to be giving this speech, not me,
because he knows what it must feel like to play a significant role in saving
lives.  And that’s what we’re here to talk about today, how best to save lives.