President Bush Names Acting AIDS Adviser Carol Thompson as Office of National AIDS Policy Director

President Bush on Wednesday named Carol Thompson director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, the AP/Indianapolis Star reports (AP/Indianapolis Star, 5/13). Thompson, a former White House domestic policy adviser, became acting director of the office when Bush appointed Dr. Joe O'Neill to the State Department Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator in August 2003 (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/6). Some of Thompson's coworkers said that she is "passionate" about HIV/AIDS and that she helped to "enact and implement" the five-year, $15-billion President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, according to the AP/Star. "Carol is a great choice for AIDS director," Jay Lefkowitz, who worked with Thompson on White House domestic policy, said. The gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign said that Thompson's appointment was "meaningless" because the administration has not contributed enough funding to the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the AP/Star reports. HRC President Cheryl Jacques said, "The White House has made this position so irrelevant, we're not overly concerned about Carol Thompson," adding, "A whole generation doesn't know anything about this disease and is being told nothing by their government about prevention. They need the unvarnished truth" (AP/Indianapolis Star, 5/13).