Obama bird-dogged in Iowa: Q:$50B? A:"Maybe"

Obama: Spoke to a crowd of about 250 people during the day in a townhall setting. I went with some friends and got seats right next to where he made his entrance, so I got to shake his hand before he began, and told him I looked forward to hearing about his AIDS policy. He gave a stump speech about domestic issues including healthcare, employment, taxes, etc. During Q&A he saw my hand, but knew what I would ask, so he didn't call on me. At one point he stacked me in the question line for right after the last question, but said "I already know what you're going to ask." Just when it looked like he was done, someone piped up and said he wanted to know what I was going to ask, so it forced Obama to take my question. Me: There are 40 million people in the world living with AIDS, but only about one quarter of those in need of treatment have acess to them. $50 billion is needed in the next five years to begin more thoroughly addressing the issue. Can you commit $50 billion in the next five years to AIDS? Obama: Maybe. I plan to double foreign aid, which would increase AIDS funding to some degree, but I also think there are other things such as malaria and tuberculosis that also need more attention and funding. Basically he said that he would increase AIDS funding some, but wouldn't commit to $50 billion. I believe he said he would also encourage other countries to contribute to the Global Fund.