Pretty heady stuff, all told.
And very ecumenical, this coming together of a right wing sink-Senator-Kerry's-chances blogger with a bona fide cable news left wing talking head. All on behalf of Sir Bob Geldof's efforts to keep Africa in the collective consciousness (and conscience) of the average mortgage and car payment-obsessed worker bee in the Northern Hemisphere.
All the while Bob Geldof, excuse me, Sir Geldof was holding court on that conference call - he continually made it clear that he wanted people to come together on this issue. That playing politics, or being afraid of what your friends might think because this work had no partisan edge to it - was simply unacceptable.
My, how well Bono has trained you, I reflected, while listening to Geldof.
Now Geldof's agreement to advise on global poverty issues - British Conservative Party leaders like David Cameron (shown above with his family) demonstrates how seriously Geldof takes this work. Geldof's heart for Africa is so huge, he simply doesn't care about your politics in order to achieve results.
Conservative leader David Cameron feels that Geldof will help the Tories "go in the direction that he and we both want to go."
Cameron and his new leadership group are ecstatic:
"This summer, millions of British people took part in the Make Poverty History campaign. A new generation of concerned citizens want prosperity for themselves and progress for the poor, whether living on the other side of the street or the other side of the world."
It sounds like Cameron has hit his stride.
The global poverty policy group is chaired by former Conservative cabinet minister Peter Lilley. "He (Geldof) has an enormous knowledge and expertise. He's been working on this area for 20 years," Lilley said. "He knows more people, he's got access to more expertise than almost anybody else in the world and that's why I'm thrilled to have him as an advisor to the group".
Geldof, meanwhile, has been feeling the heat from the Left about this decision - but has held firm: "That's my job, to be used so long as I can help steer the policy towards those who are dying. I've said I'll shake hands with the devil on my left and the devil on my right to get to where we need to be."
Geldof may yet feel the devil, through anger from Left Wingers who turn their back on him for doing this.
I know how he feels. It is clear that the Right will work with anyone to make progress on this issue. Conservative Christians are increasingly involved there, and (in a great read), The Economist thinks it knows why:
The teachers and bankers flocking to the megachurches want to spend their political capital on more than just abortion and gay marriage. Second, Christianity has shifted to the developing world. In 1900, 80% of the world's Christians lived in Europe and in America; today, 60% live in the developing world. More Presbyterians go to church in Ghana than in Scotland.
But there is another factor, one which Sir Bob certainly understands. As do correspondents for CNN and the BBC. And it is unassailably clear: George W. Bush has never invaded Africa, nor launched a single cruise missile there. While Bill Clinton invaded Somalia, fired missiles on Sudan - and let Rwanda immolate - Bush has served Africa very well by comparison. His leadership on debt forgiveness was a historic achievement. And Bush Administration pressure on Sudan to ward off genocide in Darfur is textbook in comparison to Madeline Albright's policy on Hutu-Tutsi violence in the 1990's. The Bush Administration has afforded its official representative in Uganda - former Ambassador Jimmy Kolker - extraordinary and completely unprecedented leeway in direct communication, completely over the head of the regime there, straight to the Ugandan people. These are wondrous efforts to promote peace and end conflict. Yet to this day, Clinton is lionized as a hero to Africa - while Bush is pilloried by African regimes parroting BBC-speak.
Nor will hearts be softened from those who disagree. I am passionate about promotion of voices from Africa, through blogging - in efforts to help people in the so-called "developed world" understand what they need from us. And let us be clear: they don't need hand-me-down clothes and other cast offs. Conversely, what we all need is just as important: understanding, engagement, connection and commitment between us (everywhere) as brothers and sisters . It has been said much better: "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:8-9
Despite this, there are those who possess the heart for outreach - but cannot for fear of reprisal - make any overture or communication with anyone connected to the world of Bush. Having recently implored (and I will be incredibly nebulous to protect privacy) a person living in Uganda (not from there) to encourage voices from Uganda on behalf of the understanding, engagement, connection and commitment mentioned above. I received this turn-down:
As a general comment here I would like to congratulate you for taking the effort to apply your time and insight to the issues affecting this region of Africa. I am sure very few people outside of this continent read the African press to be aware of the general state of affairs in Uganda and it's neighbours.
Regarding your request to write something about Uganda on a regular basis - I would love to, but cannot believe that by doing so I would not be putting my family at risk in some way, not to mention the organisation I work for and it's employees. I considered writing under a pseudonym and emailing my posts to you so they would not be traceable to my location in Uganda, but I am certain that anyone reading them would in short order narrow the field of possible employers/locations. I thought also about recommending your site to some of my Ugandan friends and colleagues, many of whom would certainly have something to say, but my referral would rightly be interpreted to be my endorsement of your site's political colour - again placing me in the political arena, jeopardising my company and employees.
By similar (perhaps paranoid) reasoning I would rather keep a close mouth about my location, family and work in Uganda, much as it grieves me to respond to your open-handed interest in such poor style.
Now, in defense of this writer - I am a vociferous critic of the Ugandan regime and would be doggedly trailed anytime I were to touch down at Entebbe - and in light of the allegations of genocide against the Museveni regime from Olara A. Otunnu, the former UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, the regime is more than a little bit touchy. Given the nature of the Ugandan police state - the writer has every reason to be careful. But look at what motivates me: Christian faith, and conservative political action.
Some things are just too hot to handle.
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