find somebody who's hopeless," he said.
US aid to Africa has grown rapidly since Mr Bush entered the White House in 2001. He said on Thursday it had doubled over his first term and was set to double again by 2010.
Asked by Matt Frei if he felt he had got the credit he deserved for such investment, Mr Bush replied: "I'm not one of these guys that really gives a darn about elite opinion. What I really care about is - are we saving lives?"
Interrogation bill veto
Mr Bush will not visit Kenya, where inter-ethnic violence erupted after recent disputed elections, or Sudan.
But his aides say he will discuss both crises with African leaders during his trip.
Mr Bush condemned the government of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe and said he would put more pressure on neighbouring South Africa to find a diplomatic solution.
"I just happen to believe their government could do more to enhance a free society in their region," he said.
Talking about events at home, he defended his threat to veto a bill passed by the US Senate outlawing the interrogation technique of water-boarding, dismissing fears that that might send a negative message around the world.
Asked whether America still occupied the moral high ground after Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, Mr Bush gave a crisply blunt answer, our interviewer says.
"Absolutely," he replied. "We believe in human rights and human dignity. We believe in the human condition. We believe in freedom."
Mr Bush was similarly robust in his defence of his actions in Iraq, saying: "The decision to move Saddam Hussein was right. And this democracy is now taking root. And I'm confident that if America does not become isolationist - you know, and allow the terrorists to take back over, Iraq will succeed."
BBC Online
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