Matt Damon: 'I Would Kiss George W. Bush on the Mouth' For His AIDS Work...But No Tongue

Film star Matt Damon is largely known in political circles for his leftist leanings.  Why, then, is he telling the world in no uncertain terms that he could kiss former President George W. Bush?

Apparently, he is very impressed with Bush's progress on various AIDS initiatives.

"I would kiss George W. Bush on the mouth for what he did on PEPFAR," Damon said in an interview with the Atlantic.  "Three seconds. No tongue."

Damon was referring, specifically, to the "President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief," which provided anti-retroviral drugs for AIDS patients in Africa.  

Perhaps even more shocking, Damon admitted he would like to see President Obama emulate Bush's actions in the matter.

"You would have expected that Obama, with his reputation as a pragmatist, would look at PEPFAR, looked at how effective it is and thought that he should make similar investments in other issues, definitely water and sanitation," he remarked.

"[But] It's a different world now than it was when Bush was president," he said, referring to the current state of the economy. 

This isn't the first time, however, that Damon has criticized Obama.

Once a staunch supporter, Damon has since declared the president to have "misinterpreted his mandate."

"When you run on something as vague as hope and change, I think a lot of people put their own s**t on you," he said. 

Damon was particularly affected after he spoke with various individuals who worked for the Obama campaign on a grass-roots level.  One reportedly told him: "Never again.  I will never be fooled again by a politician."

However, it remains unclear whether Damon is disappointed in Obama because he has not gone far enough in his initiatives, or because he has gone too far.