Rebranding America, By BONO (NYT)

[jefferson_dem]

Rebranding America
By BONO

A FEW years ago, I accepted a Golden Globe award by barking out an expletive.

One imagines President Obama did the same when he heard about his Nobel, and not out of excitement.

When Mr. Obama takes the stage at Oslo City Hall this December, he won’t be the first sitting president to receive the peace prize, but he might be the most controversial. There’s a sense in some quarters of these not-so-United States that Norway, Europe and the World haven’t a clue about the real President Obama; instead, they fixate on a fantasy version of the president, a projection of what they hope and wish he is, and what they wish America to be.

Well, I happen to be European, and I can project with the best of them. So here’s why I think the virtual Obama is the real Obama, and why I think the man might deserve the hype. It starts with a quotation from a speech he gave at the United Nations last month:

“We will support the Millennium Development Goals, and approach next year’s summit with a global plan to make them a reality. And we will set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time.”

They’re not my words, they’re your president’s. If they’re not familiar, it’s because they didn’t make many headlines. But for me, these 36 words are why I believe Mr. Obama could well be a force for peace and prosperity — if the words signal action.

<SNIP>

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/opinion/18bono.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

[Tarheel_Dem]

1. Obviously, the more the president is besieged at home, the more the..

rest of the world comes to see how stupid we are. The media puts any nutcase with a grudge at the top of the news for all the world to see. They're either looking on us in horror, or they're laughing their collective asses off.

[w4rma]

2. America is Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. Obama and the Dems represent Dr. Jekyl, but Mr. Hyde is always

there waiting to show his personality and there is a chance that he will with each election.

[elleng]

6. More like disbelief, if they hear or see at all.

[Patchuli]

3. I love Bono

for many reasons. That explanation is one of them. "They're not my words, they're your president's. If they're not familiar, it's because they didn't make many headlines."

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

[Bonobo]

4. Now someone here will say that Bono is on the "pom pom squad". nt

[dmr]

5. Thank you Bono

:)