David Beasley reacted like a father when he saw the toddler's tiny feet peeking from under her blanket in a hospital in war-torn Yemen. "I just kind of tickled the little girl's feet, thinking I'd get a smile or something," he said. He didn't get a smile. He got no response at all. "It was like literally tickling a ghost," Beasley said in a recent interview. "It just ripped into my soul. I had to walk out of the room, around the corner, and just tear up. It was heartbreaking." The former South Carolina governor must often cope with anguishing scenes during trips to hunger-stricken regions in his current role as the United Nations World Food Program's executive director. The program, which is based in Rome, provides a lifeline to about 100 million people in 80 countries.