The Millennium

Watching the State of the Union, Megan McArdle reflected that "he's talking up the Millenium project, which is actually one of the great things this administration has done. This doesn't get nearly enough good press." The Millennium Challenge Corporation is certainly a good idea, but as Max Bermann points out one reason it doesn't get much good press is that the implementation has been problematic:

The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a federal agency set up almost four years ago to reinvent foreign aid, has taken far longer to help poor, well-governed countries than its supporters expected or its critics say is reasonable.

The agency, a rare Bush administration proposal to be enacted with bipartisan support, has spent only $155 million of the $4.8 billion it has approved for ambitious projects in 15 countries in Africa, Central America and other regions.

If Bush wants to salvage any kind of positive legacy, this initiative is going to be one of the few things he'll have to rely on. Given that, it'd be nice to think that he'll spend the next 12 months really trying to make sure these trains are running correctly and really fighting to keep the relatively modest amount of money in play here flowing from the Congress. Instead, though, all the energy seems to go into surveillance and pouring more cash and lives down the drain in Iraq.