Bono Recalls Dodging Hug From Bush & Obama's Reaction

[JohnnyK]

Run time: 01:57 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaS-nkC8JY4   Posted on YouTube: July 19, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: July 19, 2009 By DU Member: JohnnyK Views on DU: 5186

 
'Nice work with the hug dodge,' then-Senator Barack Obama told U2 superstar in 2006. Bono admitted he passed on the embrace because he didn't get along with Bush, and told the former President of his strong stance against war — although he did praise him for tripling U.S. aid to developing countries.

[opihimoimoi]

1. Loved it....K&R

[Hamlette]

2. love it, kick and r

[Aviation Pro]

3. The lad does rock in more ways than one....

...nice work on the hug dodge, indeed. To the greatest page with you.

[BlueJessamine]

4. K&R!

:fistbump:

[City Lights]

5. I read about this...it's great to see the vid!

Recommended.

[PatSeg]

6. I hated seeing Bono on the same stage with

Bush, though I understood his motives. Good to hear he was a Hug Dodger. I can't imagine letting that man touch me.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

18. I hated seeing Bono on stage period.

What a horrible band.

[PatSeg]

22. I don't care one way or another about his music,

but I really like him as a person - even more now that I know he dodged the hug.

Love your tagline.

[burning rain]

7. Oh my goodness, I hope no-one is so nasty as to post this....

over at beloved droolychin message board "the Freep." Poor wingnuts would be out another rocky band on the permitted list. At least country music is mostly safe. "My wife done left me, but I still got my huntin' dog, got me a case o' Budweiser an' a TV to watch NASCAR on! An' I kin make love to my cousin in the bed of my pickup truck."

[Mimosa]

8. Hmm

From the video:

"although he did praise him for tripling U.S. aid to developing countries."

That was part of what ran up the deficit and got us into the mess we're in, along with the war. And the subsequent bail-out.

[Chorophyll]

9. Right. It's all Bono's fault.

Just kidding, but our problem really isn't the aid we give to developing countries. It's the war, and the lack of regulation on the banking industry, and the fact that the United States doesn't actually produce anything anymore.

[Mimosa]

10. I agree

We got sold out as far as outsourcing of jobs.

[Mr. Sparkle]

11. To be fair, it was the war and the tax cuts that caused the deficit.

as well as the republican ideology, "Reagan proved deficits don't matter" . Regan proved a lot of things but this was comical.

[cboy4]

12. No, he's not talking about tripling "aid" to developing countries .. Bush signed

a bill tripling AIDS funding

And he deserves credit for this, which is the point Bono was trying to make.

The five-year, $48 billion plan renews a program credited with saving millions of lives in Africa alone and is widely seen as one of the major achievements of the Bush presidency.

Bush said the program, launched by him in 2003, ''is the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in human history.''

The president signed the bill in the ornate East Room of the White House, surrounded by lawmakers and people affected by AIDS whom he met on his February trip to Africa.

The legislation is a rare case of relatively easy cooperation between the Democratic-controlled Congress and the White House. It passed the House last week by a 303–115 vote and the Senate earlier in the month by a vote of 80–16. http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid58611.asp

[DallasNE]

14. I'm With Bono On The Aid Issue

Most of this went to Africa and a good deal of it went for AIDS prevention and treatment. If only President Reagan would have done this some 22-23 years ago we wouldn't be in the pickle we are today.

[AnneD]

20. Tripling aid to Africa.....

like tripling the aid to WIC or Education or housing the poor and homeless combined would not even come close to the true cost of these wars and our military budget.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_United_States_federal_budget

and if you will note-the cost of Iraq and Afghanistan are not listed because they are appropriations. It is estimated conservatively estimated at 3 trillion or about 12k per person in the US. This is an easier read.

http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm

[mitchum]

13. There's just no honor among tax cheats

[Joszef Pelikan]

15. Bono...

Wasn't he in some Irish boy band?

[dipsydoodle]

16. Nope - that's latter day expression

They had an Irish Show Band when they were youngsters.

[Hannah Bell]

17. bono = tool. with dumb glasses.

[Bluenorthwest]

19. I recall Bono's praise or Rick 'Man on Dog' Santorum

Rick Santorum has been a defender of the most vulnerable. . . . He was ready to stand up on Capitol Hill and say, 'This is important for America.' "

Bono was removed from my wall of righteous straight folk for that comment. Birds of a feather and all of that.

[orbitalman]

21. Because I DON'T Like Him...

not because I somehow couldn't get along. At 63, I'm sure I shall go to my death without changing my tune.