In the most recent State of the Union address, Bush urged members of Congress

...to serve the interests of America by showing the compassion of America.

Since this followed on a paragraph that mentioned the problems of AIDS and malaria, many took this as aimed at the health crisis in Africa.  But it's a huge step back from where Bush has gone in the past.

In the 2003 SOTU, Bush dedicated the middle section of his talk to the discussion of AIDS in Africa and finished with this statement.

I ask the Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years, including nearly $10 billion in new money, to turn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean.

Why was Bush so explicit back then and not today?  Well, likely because he never followed up on delivering the aid that he promised.

But there's a better question: why does Africa need our help in the first place?