Senator John Edwards made a visit to Las Vegas yesterday and had nothing but praise for the ONE Campaign. Super-volunteer Amber McIntosh was able to band the senator with a ONE wristband.

When Senator Edwards took questions, he pointed to me and noted to the audience that he called on me because I was wearing a ONE t-shirt. I thanked him for his upcoming poverty tour aimed at raising awareness about poverty in America, and I asked what he would do as president to fight extreme poverty throughout the world.

Senator Edwards proceeded to praise ONE as a “fantastic organization” and commended ONE for our inspiring efforts to eradicate poverty. He also invited everyone in attendance to go learn more about the ONE Campaign.

Edwards said he would focus on three things to fight extreme poverty: 1. Primary education for all children, especially in the nations that do not educate young girls. 2. Provide sanitary, clean water to everyone to fight global disease. 3. Promote economic development in the third world primarily through micro-lending.

He also noted that fighting extreme poverty is the perfect issue for America to take the lead on: “Not only is it the right thing to do, it is also an issue of national security.” Senator Edwards made it very clear that he is committed to fighting poverty both at home and abroad and issued a strong endorsement of ONE to all in attendance.

Senator Edwards closed by saying “I don’t know if you are for me, but I hope you will go to each candidate and ask them the same question about global poverty.” I assured him ONE Vote ‘08 will do just that.

Read the June 11 statement from Edwards in support of ONE Vote ‘08.

A group of us attended the “South Carolina for Edwards” headquarters opening in Columbia, SC, today.

Edwards Campaign Manager David Bonoir opened the event and reaffirmed Senator Edward’s commitment to fighting poverty. Among the people and media attending, many kids, teens, and adults wore ONE Bands and stickers, including Edwards staffers. (One woman even had a ONE sticker on her hat.)

Many people asked me questions about the SC ONE Vote ‘08 launch tomorrow. The Edwards campaign said that some of their local staff would attend and that they’d also invite supporters to come.

Thurdsay night, Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson participated in a live, televised forum at Howard University.

ONE volunteers seized this opportunity to send these presidential candidates a message when they arrived at the forum. Each volunteer got one sign that said one of the following words, “What will you do to end extreme poverty and AIDS?” We set up across from a sea of presidential candidate supporters and signs. We could tell that lots of people were intrigued by our unique message. Cars slowed down while they passed us on busy Georgia Avenue to see what we had to say! Our group traveled a few blocks down the sidewalk (in order!), shouting our message so other groups saw us, too. A few limos and town cars with dark tinted windows passed by us, so we can only speculate on who may have been inside!

An hour into our demonstration, our shouting was overpowered by a torrential storm, but that didn’t stop us until our signs were dripping ink and unintelligible!

This was just one of many times the candidates and their supporters will see ONE in the crowd urging both to make ending extreme poverty and AIDS a top priority in the 2008 elections.

By the way, a similar forum with the Republican candidates will occur in September at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Read more on the presidential forums here.

Yesterday, I attended an office party in Columbia at the new South Carolina headquarters for John Edwards. The senator and his wife answered questions from different office and house parties from around the country via teleconferencing. He is an avid fan of ONE, and he stressed the moral imperative of ending global poverty, with education, improving sanitation, and economic development as corner stones of his initiative.

Several of the people attending the event were quite impressed with his commitment to fight global AIDS and poverty, particularly those who were with the South Carolina Campaign to End AIDS. After the teleconference ended I took a picture with the Edwards staffers and several attendees all proudly displaying their ONE Bands.

Yesterday, the DNC, RNC, and presidential candidate Senator Edwards released statements praising ONE Vote ‘08.

Chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan:

“My job, every single day, is to elect Republican candidates, and I am tremendously dedicated to that job. But if we can join with Democrats to make sure that this issue remains at the forefront of the next President’s agenda, no matter who that President may be, then I am proud to do it. ONE Vote ’08 is doing an amazing, compassionate thing, and I am proud to say that the RNC supports their efforts completely.”

DNC Chairman Howard Dean and the head of the DNC’s Faith in Action initiative, Rev. Leah Daughtry:

“The One Vote 08′ effort has brought together a great team of leaders including key Democratic strategists and members of our own DNC Faith Advisory Council. The Democratic Party is wholly committed to playing a leading role in working to eradicate global poverty. As a nation at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, America is witnessing first hand the despair that regional poverty and social instability cause around the world. A lack of education, adequate health care and the absence of hope and opportunity often lead to conditions that wreak havoc on our global and national security. Therefore, it is in all our best interests to work together to address these issues head on. Through our efforts we can send a message to the world that America’s concern for the least of these is a core value that reflects the goodness and greatness of our county’s founding principles.”

Senator John Edwards:

“It’s simply wrong that billions of people around the globe live on less than $2 per day. Fighting global poverty is the moral thing to do – and it’s also the smart thing to do for America, because it will make us safer and more secure. ONE Vote ‘08 has taken an important step to bring attention to this issue and to rally support for fighting global poverty.”

Senator John Edwards attended a luncheon with actor Danny Glover at the First Monday Breakfast Club hosted by the Florence County Democratic Party at Horne’s Restaurant in Florence, SC.

Glover kicked off the event by giving a brief, but energetic welcoming address. He then presented Senator Edwards, who spoke and answered audience members’ questions.

During the Q&A, I asked Senator Edwards how his administration planned to address global hunger and extreme poverty. He outlined three major steps:

-first, primary education for all children;
-second, halting the spread of diseases by ensuring proper sanitation and clean drinking water; and
-third, economic development through the use of micro-loans. He estimated the programs would require $5 billion in US funding commitments.

Talking more with Senator Edwards and Mr. Glover after the meeting, I was impressed to find that both were well aware of the ONE Campaign, and they eagerly accepted white wristbands and ONE T-shirts. Florence County Democrats and other attendees were equally excited about ONE, and many signed up to participate in the forthcoming Palmetto State ONE Campaign launch.

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Last night at ONE’s headquarters, the remaining staff in the office gathered in front of a TV with our laptops so we could watch the presidential forum on faith hosted by Sojourners (a partner organization of ONE) and broadcasted by CNN while we finished our work for the day. The ONE Campaign co-sponsored the Presidential Forum on Faith, Values, and Poverty, which featured the leading Democratic presidential candidates-Edwards, Obama, and Clinton.

As the name suggests, the candidates fielded questions on their personal faith and how their faith affected their political life. ONE is a broad movement of Americans from all religious and political beliefs, and many of our members are people of faith who vote on the values derived from this faith. For these members, ONE’s issues represent a moral imperative, a belief that our faith demands taking action on behalf of the world’s poor, starving widows, and ill orphans.

I consider myself among this group of ONE members who are strongly motivated by their religious beliefs, and so I was especially pleased to hear “helping the poor” and “faith values” tied together as I watched national broadcast. Too often in recent years I have felt that this connection has been lost in the discussion over the “values” voters. As the candidates from both sides of the aisle tour the country this campaign season, let’s make sure that they hear from all of us, religious or not, who believe that “saving lives” is a value worth casting a vote for. ONE is launching ONE Vote ‘08 on Monday, designed to mobilize Americans to do just that.

You can watch the forum here.

Tonight at 7pm EST, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama will join Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners live on CNN for a conversation about faith, values, and poverty — and they’re asking supporters to vote for their favorite question to ask in front of a national television audience.

I’ve just cast my vote for my favorite question — go check out the options and cast a vote yourself.

Vote NOW to ensure the leading Democratic presidential contenders weigh-in on their commitment to meeting the Millennium Development Goals and halving extreme poverty by 2015. I urge you to vote for the post by Edward from Atlanta about the MDGs.

Tune in tonight, June 4th, to CNN at 7 pm EST (6 pm CST). Pass this onto others!

Thanks!

In an address before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Wednesday, John Edwards identified global poverty as critical to American national security. In the speech, Edwards proposed an increase of $5 billion in annual foreign assistance and the creation of a cabinet level post to lead an effort which would include the means to “educate every child in the world.”

An excerpt from the speech:

“Any new strategy must include new preventive measures to win the long-term struggle and fuel hope and opportunity. This includes strong and creative diplomacy, and also new efforts to lead the fight against global poverty. I’ve proposed a plan to lead an international effort to educate every child in the world. As president, I would increase foreign assistance by $5 billion a year to make millions of people safer, healthier, and more democratic, and by creating a cabinet-level post to lead this effort.”

The full text of the speech can be found at the Edward’s Campaign website.

In Lebanon, New Hampshire, on Monday Sen. Edwards made a campaign stop to talk about his visions for our country. Sen. Edwards started his speech by talking about the need for our country to fight HIV/AIDS and poverty in Africa. He told the crowd that we had a moral imperative to act and that what we do to on the ground in Africa to save lives, shows the world the kind of country and people that we are.

Sen. Edwards also spoke about Darfur and the deplorable war in Uganda. He also spoke about our opportunity to enroll millions of children in primary schooling in Africa and create a better and safer world for all.

After the speech, ONE members went and spoke with Sen. Edwards and gave him a ONE band to put on. The senator was very familiar with the ONE Campaign and noted the positive impact the ONE Campaign is having in our country.

Just one more reason to put your own ONE band on and come out to a candidate event in your area We are being heard, we are being seen, we are saving lives in the developing world…and in the 2008 election, we will change the world.