After the scrutiny into the Clintons' charitable giving, we were naturally interested in what Bush's post-presidential giving might be like. Thanks to super top secret psychic accounting, we can give you a sneak peak into the 2009 tax return and his charitable deductions:

 10) $10, Yale. (How does that damn alumni association keep finding him????)

9)  $30 to Heckuva Job Foundation, devoted to trying to find jobs for Bush appointees with no skills.

 8) $12.75, Girl Scouts. (You can write the Thin Mints off, right?)

 7) $35 to group hoping to salvage wreckage of Oceanic Flight 815

 6) $100 to the Texas Rangers, who are like a charity at this point

 5) 50 cents Jenna gave to saxophonist in DC Metro

 4) $25 to the Barbara Bush Foundation, dedicated to helping resettle Katrina victims who have been overwhelmed by the hospitality of Texas.

 3) $50 to George W. Bush Presidential Library, in exchange for political favors

 2) $100 to that poor Nigerian guy that keeps e-mailing him

 1) TEN charities? Who do you think he is, Gandhi?

 It's a grand total of almost $369, or, in a year in which he made $15 million for "consulting" and "speaking" fees, .000025% of his income. Pretty damn good, if he does say so himself. 

This post is 100% snark-free. There has been a lot of discussion about the Clinton Foundation and some speculation that it is a tax shelter or its motives are otherwise impure. I felt it was important to defend the truly remarkable work it is doing. The foundation is one of the key sponsors (along with Bill and Melinda Gates) of programs in developing countries designed to address AIDS, health, and poverty. Here's some of their projects:

 10) Under HIV/AIDS Initiative, dedicated $38 million to 3-year program in Kenya ensuring children get AIDS treatment.

 9) Brokered agreement with drug companies for discounted AIDS drugs for African countries. Partnered with pharmaceutical companies to reduce the costs of HIV testing for infants in sub-Saharan Africa. Organized 66 countries in a consortium to purchase AIDS drugs and diagnostic equipment at reduced prices.

 8) Launched pilot program in Tanzania to make malaria drugs more available in poor regions of Africa. Made drugs available at a 90% cost reduction, provide patients with information on use of and obtaining the drugs, train local pharmacy employees on diagnosing and treating malaria. The hope is to roll out this program all over Africa if it is successful.

 7) Under Rural Initiative, launched program to train and deploy doctors who will serve three year fellowships in rural areas of Tanzania, Mozambique, and Rwanda.

 6) Formed Clinton Hunter Development Initiative, a 10 year, $100 million program to lift African nations out of poverty. Focus is on encouraging sustainable food sources, building sanitation, and providing clean water.

 5) Under CHDI, partnered with Partners in Health to build a hospital in rural area of Malawi. Built sanitation and water supply for hospital and neighboring village. Renovated local hospital in Rwanda, built sanitation and water for them.

 4) CHDI helped farmers in Rwanda buy fertilizer at a significantly lowered cost. Their goal is to help farmers gain access to advanced technologies and to improve their chances at trade by, among other things, fixing roads, building storage facilities, investing in plants.

 3) Formed $100 million dollar Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative to address poverty in Latin America.

 2) Formed Clinton Climate Initiative to fight global warming. Announced $5 billion program to help major cities worldwide green their buildings. Organizing major cities into a purchasing group to bargain for lower energy costs.

 1) With GHW Bush, formed Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, which has raised over $150 million for rebuilding New Orleans. Has also fundraised for the Tsunami and the California Wildfires. 

 There are certainly questions about the transparency of the foundation, and that story in the NYTimes about the Kazakhstan deal was about Giustra of the Latin American initiative. The nexus of favors/donors is a complicated one. I, personally, don't care. When Bill Clinton dies, he will have left the world a far better place—outside of anything that happened in his presidency. Any one of his programs is world-changing, and there are hundreds. So, as Bill Clinton blusters his way through the campaign trail, remember before all of this started he's had a truly incredible ex-presidency. He's using his connections, influence, intelligence, and negotiating skills to do real, profound good. 

 So, let's finish up this campaign so he can go back to doing it.