Fred Thompson: “I’ll do my best.”
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On Friday, I traveled to Laconia, NH, for a Sen. Fred Thompson event and to make sure that the world’s poorest people were represented in the Granite State.
Sen. Thompson gave a short speech and then took a few questions. I was able to talk with him about the world’s poorest people. I told him how a billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day and die by the millions from preventable diseases like AIDS and malaria. I also told him that our nation was scaling up our efforts to save lives and noted the efforts of President Bush and former Majority Leader, and ONE Vote ‘08 Co-Chair Sen. Bill Frist. I asked him, if elected, would he continue our country’s efforts in some of the most desperate places around the world. He told me, “I’ll do my best” and gladly took a ONE band from me. He even told me that everywhere he goes he gets a ONE band.
From the chilly Granite State, across the nation, on to DC, to Africa and beyond, you’ll find the ONE Campaign advocating for the world’s poorest people!
-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer
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The ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, with frequent contributions from volunteers, members and partner organizations.
The ONE Blog updates readers daily with the latest in global development news and analysis and what ONE members and our partners are doing around the world to influence world leaders in the fight against global poverty.
The content of each post and each comment represents the views of that author and does not necessarily reflect the views of ONE or ONE Action. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any post expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
November 26, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Certainly glad to see you’ve got your priorities straight Matt.
With the magnitude of critical problems we face you want to push money at a situation we did nothing to create…excellent priorities indeed.
November 26, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Hey Chris,
Extreme poverty can lead to instability in the world- and today, more than a billion people live on less than a dollar a day.
In the last three years, 2.4 million people have joined ONE, and in doing so, have used their names to state that this fight is a priority to them.
In the last three weeks alone, tens of thousands of Americans have signed the “On The Record” petition, asking all the presidential candidates to tell us their plans, if elected, to combat extreme poverty and global disease.
Chris, I hope you will continue to engage candidates on the many other critical issues facing our country and world, but if you have a problem with this work, please feel free to address the issues, instead of an individual on the front line. We’re always more than eager for real dialogue on the facts.
November 26, 2007 at 4:27 pm
As a Thompson supporter, I’m glad to see Thompson’s positive response to your question. But then again, I would expect nothing less. Fred Thompson is a class act in my book.
However, I do have a question for the One staff. Is your initiative focused only on the United States, or are you calling out other industrialized nations as well to help end worldwide poverty, disease and hunger? Are there global “One” initiatives? If not, then why?
Call me narrow minded or uneducated if you’d like, but I simply do not think that this responsibility should fall solely on our shoulders.
November 28, 2007 at 9:10 am
Hey Renee, In 2000, 192 United Nations member states agreed to try to achieve the 8 Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015. (These include items like halving extreme poverty and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS.) ONE knows that all of these 192 countries must live up to their promises if we are ever to achieve these goals. As Americans, however, we are uniquely positioned to lobby our own government. I hope that helps.
January 9, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I’m a Thompson guy too (full disclosure!)
Ms. Simmons, I think the question Renee is trying to ask is that it’s great that the US is working to alleviate poverty and AIDS in less-developed nations, and should continue to do so. But I think it’s kind of a “put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is” question. What are some of the other industrialized nations doing, as far as $$$ (or maybe better €€€) is concerned, and is ONE active in places like Berlin, Tokyo, and of course, Brussels? Sometimes you gotta go it alone if it’s the right thing to do (and poverty eradication *is* the right thing to do), but it’s sure nice to know that others are on the same page.