Bono

If he were American, U2’s front man could have a shot at becoming the first one-named president of the United States. The speech he gave after receiving the prestigious Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia Thursday night, September 27, almost made Barack Obama’s 2004 Democratic convention oration sound inarticulate and lacking in patriotism.

“This is my country,” proclaimed the rocker, wearing his trademark sunglasses. Then he proceeded to rattle off everything good about America–from Ben Franklin to Bob Dylan, from teaching “the Irish their value” to the Declaration of Independance, the first few lines he read, then declared author Thomas Jefferson ” a great lyricist.”

“It’s a great opening riff,” he said, to laughter.

Bono (born Paul Hewson, of Dublin) was selected to receive the medal jointly with DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), an organization he co-founded to help end AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa. The $100,000 prize will go directly into DATA’s coffers. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former finance minister of Nigera and vice president of the World Bank, accepted the award on behalf of DATA, on whose advisory board she sits.

The Irish singer joins a distinguished group of recipients, including former President George Bush, who placed the medal around his neck at Thursday night’s ceremony; former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter; South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and F. W. deKlerk; King Hussein and Shimon Peres; Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan; Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Among that group, even Bono expressed some surprise that the award was given to “an Irish punk rocker.”

But the awards committee had its reasons–and good ones.  While other artist-activists have raised funds for Africa with their music, Bono used his fame to take his message to the halls of power. He has lobbied US presidents, including the current one; congressional leaders, and heads of other G8 nations, first to convince them to forgive Africa’s debt (done) and to provide money to buy AIDS drugs for people in Africa who can’t afford them (done).

ONE, the organization he launched  in Philadelphia during Live 8 two years to “make poverty history,” has enrolled 2.4 million American activists in the fight against AIDS and conditions on the African continent. He and partner Bobby Shriver last year also launched Product (RED) to raise money from businesses to purchases AIDS drugs for Africans. Many of the audience on Thursday night were wearing “RED” t-shirts from the GAP, which donates part of the proceeds from the sale to the program. Only a year old, Product (RED) has already raised $45 million, $30 million of which has been distributed to AIDS programs in Ghana, Swaziland, and Rwanda.

Most important, said  Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, is that the singer and his group, DATA, don’t offer handouts. “They recognize the essential wish of Africans to help themselves. Africans want to support themselves. Africans do not want to be objects of pity or to be seen as victims,” she told the crowd.

 “We can’t fix every problem,” Bono said. “But the ones we can, we must.”