I was traveling during the latest debate, so I didn't get a chance until today to hear a re-broadcast. I heard nothing new or exciting from Clinton or Obama, despite the numerous times they got applause. There were the same old answers.

Some topics are just crying out for new answers, and one of those topics has to do with AIDS. I feel BR attempted to get at some of those answers, but the format didn't allow for it.

Here are some facts regarding the related issues of AIDs, teenage pregnancy, and abortion. My thanks to Gary Wills for some of this information.

American girls are just as sexually active as girls in Canada and Western Europe. However, deprived of sex education, American girls are five times as likely to have teenage pregnancies; five times as likely to have AIDS/HIV; seven times as likely to have an abortion; and seventy times as likely to have gonorrhea.

Whenever prospective mothers have access to contraceptives, assurances that they and their babies will have access to healthcare, and at least enough income to meet their basic needs; rates for teen pregnancies and STD infection plummet. The highest rates of abortion, teen pregnancy, and HIV infection are in those countries that have strict prohibitions on abortion and sex education.

So, the solution to the AIDS crisis and related issues is all around us. We have to do away with faith-based initiatives that prevent us from having adult discussions about sex and family planning. Puerile prohibitions on sex education are leading to higher rates of infection. AIDS treatment is, as everyone knows, plodding and difficult. Treatment is not the solution to the AIDs crisis ... the answer is stopping the rate of new infections.

As BR continually points out, America has lost its leadership position ... and this is one area were that statement rings particularly true. The US is a third world country on the issue of AIDS. The bittersweet aspect to that commentary is that some third world countries are doing a marvelous job at AIDS prevention, especially Thailand and Uganda.

Uganda has a national "ABC" campaign: "A" - abstinence, "B"- be faithful to your partner, and "C" - use a condom if you can't do "A" or "B" ... it's been tremendously successful. The sad part is the the Bush Administration has offered financial support for Uganda's program as long as they drop the "C".

In America, if we don't want to lead, we don't have to reinvent the wheel either. An international perspective, like the one BR espouses on so many matters, is the right perspective. There is much to learn from the successful programs and policies of other countries. Often, its not even a question of resources, but attitude. There are desperately poor countries who are out-performing the US.