South Florida ONE volunteers were hot on the campaign trail yesterday, representing ONE at back-to-back rallies for Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama.

In the morning we went to the Everglades Lumberyard in Miami to hear Senator McCain speak. He was accompanied by fellow Republicans Governor Charlie Crist, Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart and Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Florida’s former Governor and current ONE Vote ’08 Co-Chair, Jeb Bush.

Just a few hours later Senators Obama and Biden held a campaign rally at the Bank Atlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale. Just when we thought we were not going to be able to get in, the security guards let us through and we found great seats just behind the stage.

With the election right around the corner, ONE volunteers are working harder than ever to maintain their strong presence on the campaign trail in Florida and to show the candidates that regardless of party affiliation, fighting global disease and extreme poverty must be a priority in the next administration.

-Sara Paterni

America.gov this week featured two articles outlining and detailing each US presidential candidate’s policies in regards to combating poverty and disease in Africa. Each article features a major campaign surrogate discussing his respective candidate’s plans—Howard Wolpe for Obama, Herman J. Cohen for McCain. Both are rather illuminating and definitely worth the read.

Excerpts below, full Obama piece here, full McCain piece here

A McCain administration would place even more emphasis on promoting private-sector economic development in Africa, Cohen said.

“The Millennium Challenge Corporation is very strong on private-sector [development], and I think you will see the United States Agency for International Development moving to finance even more private-sector activity to help even more Africans themselves become investors,” he predicted. “Now that Africa is becoming more open to the private sector, they need the infrastructure to make it work. “

An Obama presidency will “greatly facilitate the diplomacy required to try to make some progress on these difficult issues,” such as the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan or the political situation in Zimbabwe.
In the long term, Wolpe said, the central challenge facing Africa is the building of cohesive states. An Obama administration would be particularly focused on helping Africans search for common ground and eliminate conflict across the continent, he predicted. “Unless you can tackle that issue, the prospects for long-term sustainable economic development will be constantly compromised,” he said.

-Chris Scott

Cindy and Rudy were greeted by hundreds of elementary and high school students at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia yesterday. But of course their visit wouldn’t be complete without greetings from the ONE Campaign.

Cindy McCain noticed me in the crowd and crouched down beside me for a picture! “I love your shirt,” she said, “I went to Rwanda with ONE!” It is obvious that her experience stays with her as she travels on the campaign trail.

-Lauren Conn

We had a busy day in Las Vegas on Friday. First, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was in town to hold a foreign policy discussion at UNLV. I was able to attend with a few ONE volunteers and students.

During the discussion Secretary Albright talked about the need to reevaluate the way we approach our foreign policy including towards the continent of Africa. She also mentioned the need to do more to eradicate disease and genocide.

As a follow up I was able to ask her if she thought fighting poverty and disease was essential to our national security. Here was her response:

Also on Friday, Joe Biden held a rally in Henderson, NV. We had about a dozen ONE members there to remind the Senator about his commitment to fight AIDS in Africa.

-Matt Higginson

Cindy and John McCain were just about to leave a rally in Downingtown, PA but stopped when they saw my ONE shirt! They came back around and I gave both of them white wristbands, thanking them for their support. Mrs. McCain commented on how much she enjoyed her trip to Rwanda with ONE this summer and Senator McCain thanked me and all of the ONE volunteers he sees at his rallies across the country for being advocates for the world’s poor.

Every voice in the fight against global poverty really does count, whether you have a national podium or a black and white ONE t-shirt in a crowd.

-Lauren Conn

This week, Gov. Palin made her first trip to campaign in New Hampshire. And just like every candidate before her since late 2006, she was greeted by ONE members from all over the Granite State celebrating our nation’s efforts to save lives in the developing world, and asking the next President to accelerate these historic and heroic efforts.

In Dover, ONE’s Marine, Michael Castaldo made it out to the campaign rally with his son Louis. Although they did not get a chance to speak directly with Gov. Palin, Michael was able to snag a quick photo with NH’s Senator Sununu, who most ONE members know from his work as an original co-sponsor of the newest global AIDS, TB, and Malaria Bill called PEPFAR.

Later on, I caught up with Gov. Palin with some ONE members in Laconia. We were poised and ready with ONE bands but unfortunately did not get a chance to speak with her. Either way, I’m sure that she saw our ONE shirts in the crowd!

As we head into the final days, ONE members everywhere should be proud of all the efforts we have collectively taken in this election cycle to make sure that the next President of the United States leads the fight against global disease and extreme poverty. From taking action online, to letter writing, to meeting the candidates at various campaign rallies, we are raising our voices together as ONE, with the world’s poorest people.

-Matthew Bartlett

I went with a crew of ONE volunteers to a rally in Horsham, PA featuring Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Governor Ed Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz to thank Governor Rendell for recently signing the proclamation making PA a State of ONE!

I handed the governor a ONE band and he kept it on up until the point he waved goodbye to supporters from his car.

Mayor Nutter stopped by to talk about making Philadelphia a City of ONE – which we hope to accomplish with his staff in the coming weeks!

-Lauren Conn

Sen. Joe Biden was in New Hampshire yesterday to campaign in Dover and Manchester. ONE’s Marine, Michael Castaldo made it out of bed early for the world’s poorest people and caught up with Sen. Biden at the Dover event. He was able to briefly speak with Sen. Biden, who was one of the original co-sponsors of the new global AIDS, TB, and Malaria bill- called PEPFAR- that President Bush signed a few months ago. Michael even snapped a quick photo with him on the way out.

In Manchester, I caught up with Sen. Biden with some ONE members too. After his speech, we made a quick dash to the rope line and we were able to briefly thank him and celebrate the new PEPFAR bill. We also encouraged him to accelerate efforts to save lives around the world by providing full funding for the Millennium Challenge Corporation – a new and more efficient way of creating partnerships in development between the US and desperately poor nations.

Our efforts to save lives in highly impoverished countries reflect the best of American values and traditions. But it is also a very wise effort to help make more friends and allies around the world and prevent further instability and despair.

-Matthew Bartlett

Greetings from Pennsylvania! Yesterday we had a historic day with the Pennsylvania State Legislature. The PA House and Senate both passed resolutions declaring October 16th as “ONE Campaign Day” in Pennsylvania! The resolutions also recognized the ONE Campaign’s advocacy, issues, and efforts to combat global poverty and disease. House resolution 918 and Senate resolution 404 passed yesterday with overwhelming support!

To highlight these achievements a press conference was held in the Harrisburg Capitol’s Main Rotunda. PA Senators Wayne Fontana and Vince Hughes made remarks and are the primary sponsors for SR 404. PA Representatives Curtis Thomas and William Kortz– the primary sponsors for HR 918—also spoke along with Representative Mike Vereb. We were also very fortunate to have one of our PA Co-Chairs Senator Harris Wofford attend our event and make special remarks on behalf of Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll. Both Senator Wofford and the Lt. Governor are champions for ONE’s initiatives.

We were also joined by Northern Lebanon High School’s student council and volunteers from Alvernia College and Lebanon Valley College. Our volunteers were FANTASTIC! The day before this event I received a letter from Governor Ed Rendell declaring Pennsylvania as a ONE State! We proudly displayed the letter—found below– at the press event along with the proclamations from Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll and Mayor Stephen Reed of Harrisburg. All in all, this was a busy and amazing week for ONE in PA loaded with special achievements! We had our capitol city declared a ONE City, our state made a ONE State, and two resolutions pass from the state legislature forever making October 16th as “ONE Campaign Day” in PA! Our volunteers were already talking about ways they could raise awareness in honor of ONE Campaign Day in PA! Great work everyone!

-Brian Sweeney, ONE Vote 08 Field Organizer

PS- WHP CBS 21 News was there to cover the event. Click on the image below to view.

Click “Read More” to view Governor Rendell’s letter.

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The presidential debate is moments away. Given this weak economic climate, there is very real concern that the presidential candidates may backtrack on the smart and historic commitments they’ve made to fight extreme poverty and global disease.

It’s up to us to make it clear that we want no debate about backing away from those promises. Click here to sign the below petition asking Barack Obama and John McCain to keep their commitments to fighting global poverty.

Senators John McCain and Barack Obama,

As you work to find a solution to the global financial crisis, please do not waver in your support for the world’s poorest people. It is now more important than ever to stand up for effective, efficient solutions that save millions of lives, strengthen the global economy, and win the hearts and minds of people around the world. I’m keeping my commitment to fight global poverty, and I ask you to do the same.

Thank you for your voice,

Chris Scott