Barack Obama & Bono

[EdgeVox]

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2007/02/spotted_barack_.html

"Spotted: Barack Obama and Bono

Posted by Mike Dorning at 11:35 am CST, updated at 1:10 pm CST

Spotted, waiting to meet with presidential candidate Barack Obama, at the Illinois senator's office in the Hart Senate Office Building: Bono of the band U2.

Update: Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Obama, said the two met for about a half hour in the senator's personal office to discuss the ONE Campaign, a non-profit organization that the Irish rock star helped form to combat AIDS and global poverty.

"Bono was making rounds on the Hill to build support for the ONE campaign. He particularly wanted to meet with Senator Obama since he’s a member of the Foreign Relations Committee – and has been active on international poverty and global health issues," LaBolt said.

LaBolt said the two did not discuss particular programs or legislation but "had a general discussion about how foreign assistance to the right programs (anti-poverty, global health) can boost our security and the standing of the U.S. around the world.""

 

[JCOSTER]

I would be quite surprised if Bono backed him during the campaign since he never did that for anyone before.

 

[U2democrat]

Bono's a shrewd politician whether he wants to be or not, I think you're right he wouldn't "endorse" anyone.

 

[coemgen]

Ah crap, I thought Obama was announcing his running mate.

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

 

[JCOSTER]

Ah crap, I thought Obama was announcing his running mate.

 

[verte76]

I'm not surprised that Bono wanted a meeting with Obama. The guy has clout.

 

[redhotswami]

I wonder if he is still in DC

 

[intedomine]

Why can't he come to Australia and endorse Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd?

 

[Bono's Betty]

Ah crap, I thought Obama was announcing his running mate.

he's a rockstar not a politician

 

[Anu]

'Oh Bono' almost has the sound.

Love all the U2 clips getting the stage prepped for the Senator.

Still digging last Friday when Hil got boos and they treated our Barack-star like a Beatle.

 

[verte76]

Bono meets with all important people. He went to the Democratic convention in 2004.

 

[last unicorn]

Bono is bi-partisan. he also met with Republicans and he discussed the issue with Hillary as well.

 

[Jeannieco]

Bono used to be vocal politically, leaning very liberal. He became diplomatic once he started to lobby Capitol Hill. I hesitate to say bi-partisan because he doesn't pledge his allegance to anyone other than the voiceless; the poor.
He has an agenda too and works the system brilliantly to get the aid needed for Africa.
Bono is very adept at being diplomatic these days and I applaud him for that because even he has said it's not easy.

 

[phillyfan26]

Yeah, I think Bono's always been liberal in the US political sense, but is very willing to negotiate with both sides in order to make a difference for the poor. He doesn't mind "selling out" (some accusations of people who didn't like him meeting with Bush) in order to help the impoverished, which is admirable.

 

[redhotswami]

Ohhkay. I didn't realize this was an old thread. I too immediately thought Obama had announced his running mate

 

[Jeannieco]

Yeah, I think Bono's always been liberal in the US political sense, but is very willing to negotiate with both sides in order to make a difference for the poor. He doesn't mind "selling out" (some accusations of people who didn't like him meeting with Bush) in order to help the impoverished, which is admirable.

Yep, exactly. But there is a part of me really misses the old pissed off Bono, when he would speak his mind freely about how he really feels. (more liberal than not)
The good ole days... sigh.

 

[namkcuR]

Yep, exactly. But there is a part of me really misses the old pissed off Bono, when he would speak his mind freely about how he really feels. (more liberal than not)
The good ole days... sigh.

FUCK THE REVOLUTION!

 

[Jeannieco]

^^^

Bono pissed off =

 

[coemgen]

Seriously, if this were the ticket, the White House could be called the Funky House.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Regardless of his work, he couldn't publicly endorse/support a candidate.

 

[Canadiens1131]

I hope Bono is okay

 

[deep]

he's a rockstar not a politician

 

[coemgen]

Peter Garrett is quite the human being. (And a strong, progressive Christian, too.) Midnight Oil was my first concert ever. Good times.

 

[Anu]

I actually think Bono and Barack have a lot in common.

(Cool Peter Garrett pictures).

 

[Anu]

The Bono-Obama Generation

http://medializzy.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/the-bono-obama-generation/

Generation X. Born from approximately 1961 - 1980. The children of Baby Boomers and Beatniks. We saw the Berlin wall come down, the Marine barracks in Beirut blown up, glasnost and perestroika crest and fall, the first shuttle launch - the Challenger disaster - and now, we are watching the end of the Shuttle program. Our men were young, fresh from high school and college when they went to liberate Kuwait in late 1990 and early 1991. Now - they are commanding forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. We remember the hostage release in Iran and we were children when Black September was the violent islamist group everyone feared. We remember the Achille Lauro and when hijacked airplanes landed on the tarmac instead of crashing into buildings. We remember the famine in Ethiopia. The genocide in Rwanda. We remember the Mog because it was our men who died there, and at Khobar Towers.

The soundtrack for our generation features Bob Geldof, Bono and U2. Sure, a lot of other artists are socially conscious. But ask a Gen Xer whose voice they hear when they see the news in Darfur, you’ll get U2 as an answer. More than a few of us skipped school the day the Joshua Tree record was released. Whether you bought it on tape or vinyl, it was a big deal.

We were deprived of knowing Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy and JFK. Because these great men were assassinated. We remember when Sadat died. We have watched as Baby Boomers ran in fear from every major challenge, shirked every responsibility, talked the talk about social justice but refused to let go of youth. They fought in a botched war (Vietnam) and are determined to make Iraq just as awful - they don’t care how many die in my generation — they just want us to feel their pain.

Here’s my thought - and it’s shared by many, if not expressed outright - Screw Off. Take your obsession with your wasted youth and get the hell out of leadership. Baby Boomers in the federal bureaucracy - whether in Congress, the White House, or on K Street - are trapped in a nightmare of their own making. GROW UP.

Gen Xers are ready to lead. We gave the world YouTube, Google, and ONE - with the help of modern visionaries like Bono. Our people, like Pierre-Richard Prosper, are the War Crimes Prosecutors - for the genocide Baby Boomers did nothing to stop. Our people, like Barack Obama, are motivating people in amazing ways — look at the Iowa Caucus results. And he isn’t just scaring Hillary Clinton - according to The Washington Post, GOP Doubts, Fears ‘Post-Partisan’ Obama.

Do you know why the “conventional wisdom” says that Obama can’t possibly motivate youth? Because the people providing the CW, are Baby Boomers. And yes-men. The 2008 presidential election may be the first election where Generation X assumes control of the Republic. It may be a chance to finally cut ties to the past - and move towards a future without the personal dramas of the past.

American voters don’t care how the Baby Boomers feel ANY MORE. That’s why elder statesman McCain is rising in the Republican field. At least McCain gives the impression he still believes in the American ideal. There is no place for petulance in presidential politics. Generation X is leading younger brothers and sisters of Generation Y, to the polls for the first time. Voters want authenticity and change.

And they are willing to take a chance on a guy, like Obama, who is one of their own - rather than give one more ounce of credit to the generation that presided over the obstacles and social engineering that our tax dollars are paying for.

This is not an endorsement of Obama, it is an endorsement of change.

—Media Lizzy

 

[last unicorn]

Yep, exactly. But there is a part of me really misses the old pissed off Bono, when he would speak his mind freely about how he really feels. (more liberal than not)
The good ole days... sigh.

Errr no.

Bono has matured so much both as an artist and a political person. I would find it disturbing to see him act like that today. He's above that and it's good this way. He's too old for juvenile rants.

 

[Jeannieco]

^^Hey Unicorn, I wasn't saying that I wanted him to do it today in the context of all his work.. ect. I am so proud of him it's not even funny and one of his biggest supporters/fans!!

I was just missing the days when he could speak his mind without regard to any political agenda he has.

 

[coemgen]

Interestingly enough, one of Peter Garrett's favorite books is Obama's "The Audacity of Hope."

http://www.petergarrett.com.au/6.aspx

 

[coemgen]

And he listens to U2 in the shower.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijn4H4rzXXs


It sounds to me like he's endorsing an Obama/Bono ticket.