http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/05/22/kagan.day2.otsc/index.html
Here's the text.
ACCRA, Ghana (CNN) -- Bono will be the first to tell you that there is a big star on this four-nation tour of Africa. His name is, "Paul O'Neill."
That's right. The U.S. treasury secretary draws mobs, while the people of Ghana smile at Bono as just another white man in Western clothes. OK, so this one wears blue-tinted wrap-around sunglasses.
Take away the secretary's Secret Service detail, and Paul O'Neill could walk down any street in America and not turn a head. But here in Ghana he represents American prosperity and assistance.
The cover of Wednesday's Daily Graphic, Ghana's largest circulation newspaper, carried a huge banner headline. "GRANTS CAN SAVE POOR NATIONS -- U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY," it read in all caps.
You have to keep reading way inside to Page 3 to find any mention of "the renowned Irish rock star, Paul Hewson, popularly known as Bono ...."
But wait. Don't feel too bad for "Paul Hewson's" ego. Bono longs to solve the desperate problems of the Third World as deeply as he wants to write the next great U2 song.
"These people don't know my music," he tells me as we look at yet another throng around the treasury secretary.
"When we drive down the street here in Ghana, they wave at our bus because they see the U.S.A. Right now, they see the U.S. as a benevolent power because America is helping. But cut off that aid, and five years from now they will be throwing rocks at our bus."
He means that symbolically, as well. "This is the cheapest way to fight terrorism," he said.
Bono desperately wants Americans to get that message. And he knows that his presence on this trip is helping focus attention on issues he truly cares about.
As we walked through Accra's Makola marketplace Wednesday morning, Bono cracked that mischievous Irish grin of his and sang out, "One pop star going cheap!"
The crowds of people around Paul O'Neill actually drowned out the quip. Bono simply smiled. He's laughing all the way to the World Bank and any other source that will bring help to the poor of the world.
Oh, and for you music fans hungry for the next great U2 song? Bono believes he has written it. He sang it for my producer, Ted Winner, and me last night. More on that Thursday.
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Not that I'd expect him to say anything different, but it still makes me smile.
[This message has been edited by MSU2mike (edited 05-23-2002).]
Here's the text.
ACCRA, Ghana (CNN) -- Bono will be the first to tell you that there is a big star on this four-nation tour of Africa. His name is, "Paul O'Neill."
That's right. The U.S. treasury secretary draws mobs, while the people of Ghana smile at Bono as just another white man in Western clothes. OK, so this one wears blue-tinted wrap-around sunglasses.
Take away the secretary's Secret Service detail, and Paul O'Neill could walk down any street in America and not turn a head. But here in Ghana he represents American prosperity and assistance.
The cover of Wednesday's Daily Graphic, Ghana's largest circulation newspaper, carried a huge banner headline. "GRANTS CAN SAVE POOR NATIONS -- U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY," it read in all caps.
You have to keep reading way inside to Page 3 to find any mention of "the renowned Irish rock star, Paul Hewson, popularly known as Bono ...."
But wait. Don't feel too bad for "Paul Hewson's" ego. Bono longs to solve the desperate problems of the Third World as deeply as he wants to write the next great U2 song.
"These people don't know my music," he tells me as we look at yet another throng around the treasury secretary.
"When we drive down the street here in Ghana, they wave at our bus because they see the U.S.A. Right now, they see the U.S. as a benevolent power because America is helping. But cut off that aid, and five years from now they will be throwing rocks at our bus."
He means that symbolically, as well. "This is the cheapest way to fight terrorism," he said.
Bono desperately wants Americans to get that message. And he knows that his presence on this trip is helping focus attention on issues he truly cares about.
As we walked through Accra's Makola marketplace Wednesday morning, Bono cracked that mischievous Irish grin of his and sang out, "One pop star going cheap!"
The crowds of people around Paul O'Neill actually drowned out the quip. Bono simply smiled. He's laughing all the way to the World Bank and any other source that will bring help to the poor of the world.
Oh, and for you music fans hungry for the next great U2 song? Bono believes he has written it. He sang it for my producer, Ted Winner, and me last night. More on that Thursday.
========
Not that I'd expect him to say anything different, but it still makes me smile.
[This message has been edited by MSU2mike (edited 05-23-2002).]
