The Magazine

Pro Bono

The president and the singer make common cause on Africa.

Jun 27, 2005, Vol. 10, No. 39 • By FRED BARNES
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THE QUESTION ASKED OF THE president by a British reporter sounded like a setup, aimed at getting Bush to dismiss Bono and reject the U2 singer's pleas for aid to poor, debt-laden countries as mere "rhetoric from rock stars." And, at first, Bush seemed to take the bait. "Part of this world," he said, "we got a lot of big talkers." But Bono, in his view, wasn't one of them. "Bono has come to see me," he said. "I admire him. He is a man of depth and a great heart who cares deeply about the impoverished folks on the continent of Africa. And I admire his leadership on the issue." On top of that, the president took exception to the reporter's condescending reference to rock stars. "I can't remember how you characterized the rock stars," he said, "but I don't characterize them that way, having met the man."

Bush has twice invited Bono to the Oval Office to discuss Africa. The first meeting, in 2002, was joined by several White House aides and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the Catholic leader in Washington. Bono is a Catholic. The second, in 2003, involved only Bush, Bono, and Condoleezza Rice, Bush's then national security adviser. Bono and Michael Gerson, the president's counselor and speechwriter, have also struck up a friendship. They lunched together in Philadelphia in May, and Gerson and his wife Dawn attended the U2 concert there that evening. Bono dedicated a song to Gerson, who had never been to a rock concert before. "It was loud," Gerson says.

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