u2utah
The Fly
Since Bono has frequently been accused lately in the media of using his Africa work as a publicity stunt, I thought some of you might get a kick out of the following excerpts from a long article about Bush's flip-flop on foreign policy with his new aid proposal. It has quite the opposite take on who is looking for publicity.
---------------------------- http://www.consortiumnews.com
March 20, 2002
From Consortiumnews.com:
Bush's Bono Act
By Nat Parry
March 20, 2002
.
.
.
A less charitable take on Bush's modest foreign aid proposal is that it was the minimum price
for a meeting with U2's Bono, an advocate of Third World debt relief. Bono, whose popularity
soared with his performance during half time of Super Bowl XXXVI, posed for pictures with
Bush at the White House on March 14, the day Bush announced his promised $5 billion
increase for the world's poor.
"As you can see, I'm traveling in some pretty good company today -- Bono," said Bush, as he
gestured to the singer. [NYT, March 15, 2002] The Washington Post noted that "the White House
clearly craved" Bono's support [March 15].
.
.
.
For Bush, this recognition of the link between terrorism and political desperation might have
seemed like a burst of enlightenment compared to his previous rhetoric about mounting a
"crusade" to root out "evil-doers." But it is still not clear whether Bush's actions will match his
words -- or whether his new-found commitment to fighting world poverty was mostly a political
show for Bono.
---------------------------- http://www.consortiumnews.com
March 20, 2002
From Consortiumnews.com:
Bush's Bono Act
By Nat Parry
March 20, 2002
.
.
.
A less charitable take on Bush's modest foreign aid proposal is that it was the minimum price
for a meeting with U2's Bono, an advocate of Third World debt relief. Bono, whose popularity
soared with his performance during half time of Super Bowl XXXVI, posed for pictures with
Bush at the White House on March 14, the day Bush announced his promised $5 billion
increase for the world's poor.
"As you can see, I'm traveling in some pretty good company today -- Bono," said Bush, as he
gestured to the singer. [NYT, March 15, 2002] The Washington Post noted that "the White House
clearly craved" Bono's support [March 15].
.
.
.
For Bush, this recognition of the link between terrorism and political desperation might have
seemed like a burst of enlightenment compared to his previous rhetoric about mounting a
"crusade" to root out "evil-doers." But it is still not clear whether Bush's actions will match his
words -- or whether his new-found commitment to fighting world poverty was mostly a political
show for Bono.
