ONE’s new TV ad – set to air on cable nationally surrounding the upcoming president debates.

Our petition, asking debate moderator Jim Lehrer to ask “Just ONE Question” about extreme poverty now has 107.905 signatures. We’ll keep delivering new signatures as they come in, so sign on if you haven’t already.

-Virginia Simmons

Days before our brand new Voices ad even hits the airwaves for the first time, we’re already overwhelmed by the amount of attention—and press—it’s getting! 85,000+ views on Youtube, shout-outs in dozens of most well-read blogs, numerous mentions in the national press – and thanks to YOU the buzz continues to build.

The Associated Press was the first to break the story with the Boston Globe, ABC News, Entertainment Tonight, E!, and others quickly following suit.

The Chicago Tribune’s blog Swamp describes the ad as “a remarkable show of Matt Damon channeling the words of the wives of the presidential candidates and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg – with the actor’s image playing a ventriloquist’s role for a bipartisan and independent team of voices appealing for help for the world’s poorest.” The Defamer says Matt Damon “makes a convincing first lady.” Democratic Blogging Staple DailyKos describes the ad as “non-partisan tackling of global poverty, hunger and HIV/AIDS”, and Republican powerhouse blog Townhall breaks the news that the ad “will debut on Meet the Press on Sunday.”

To see what all the fuss is about visit www.one.org/voices and be sure to pass along to your friends to help spread our message of ending global poverty.

Below, a small sampling of the ad’s blog coverage so far:

• The Huffington Post
• TIME’s The Page
• PerezHilton
• DailyKos
• Townhall
• NPR’s Blog
• Real Clear Politics
• Oklahoma Women’s Blog Network
• The APB (Anti-Poverty Blog)
• ABC News Blog
• Chicago Tribune’s Swamp Blog
• Green Mountain Politics
• Hollywood Scoop
• Defamer
• New York Magazine
• The Guardian
• Citizen Sugar
• The Insider
• Pop Crunch
• Observer
• NewsDay
• ecorazz
• Michelle Obama Watch
• Seriously OMG
• CNN Politics Political Ticker
• E Online Blog

-Chris Scott

Next week ONE debuts our new TV ad nationally, but we’re debuting it to our
members as soon as we possibly can – right now!

Check it out at one.org/voices.

For more than a year, ONE members have been trailing the presidential
candidates asking them to go on the record with their plans to combat global poverty. Now we’re taking our message to the airwaves with this major new TV ad. The spot spot features Matt Damon with different Americans’ voices – among them Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain and Mayor Bloomberg.

Share this online sneak preview with your friends now, and then watch for it on TV nationally starting Sunday, August 24th.

You can learn more about the ad here.

-Virginia Simmons

Here it is on YouTube if you missed it:

-Virginia Simmons

Last week, ONE members wrote letters to Iowa caucus-goers to urge them to choose the presidential candidate with the best plan to fight extreme poverty.

When all was said and done, five were so excellent that we’ve decided to increase the power of those authors by sending their letters to 40,000 Iowans.

Below, is the first of the five, from ONE member Alex in Concord, Mass:

I hope this letter finds you well! Before I say anything else, I want you to know that this isn’t an “automated” letter. It’s been written personally by me, just for you.

You see, I’m part of an organization called ONE, and our leaders asked us all to write a personal letter to be sent to someone in Iowa about making a difference in the world. So you are the only one receiving this specific letter, though many people in Iowa will be getting a similar one.

I know, I know. You don’t have time to read this. You’re busy. You’ve got a spouse or a boyfriend or girlfriend. Maybe you have kids. A dog. A cat. I know I’m busy. But please take the time to hear me out:

Global poverty and disease are enormous issues. They affect millions. But you, friend, can make a difference!

As an Iowa voter, you have the privilege of representing your political party, your state and your country when Iowa holds the first in the nation presidential nominating contest. I don’t care if you vote Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, or anything else. I just want you to make a choice that will be beneficial to the millions waiting for you to make it.

As a concerned ONE member, an organization with 2.4 million members including thousands in Iowa, I am asking you to find out where the candidates stand on issues of extreme poverty and global disease by visiting ONE Action’s On The Record campaign at www.onevote08.org/otr. We have asked the candidates to tell us their thoughts, and many have personally responded to ONE!

So check it out. Make a good choice. I really hope you want to make a difference!

Oh, and by the way–if this interests you, join ONE! It’s amazing what this campaign has done. You can always shoot me an email or a letter too if you want.

Well, thanks for your time and happy voting!

Sincerely,
Alex, ONE Member
Concord, MA

There was a great ONE story in the U.K. newspaper the Guardian this week. The article focuses on a term Tucker Eskew suggested for ONE’s new form of bird dogging presidential candidates: bear hugging, as well as ONE’s “get out the vote” plans in the early primary states, new TV ad, and on ONE Vote ’08’s overall mission and effectiveness.

Excepts from Monday’s Guardian article:

Tucker Eskew, a former aide to president George Bush who works with One, has even coined a fitting name for the group’s less confrontational approach: “bear-hugging”.

Bear-huggers are One organizers or members who show up at campaign events with questions about Aids, early education and healthcare in developing nations. The “hugs” they receive can be as brief as a handshake encounter or more profound, in the form of anti-poverty policies that many presidential hopefuls provided to One this month.

Whether through small steps or great leaps, however, the group sees this presidential election as pivotal to its far broader mission.

….Of its estimated 2.4m members, One estimates that 80% are registered voters and more than 50,000 live in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, sites of the first three presidential primaries.

….For former Iowa lieutenant governor Sally Pederson, the initiative is already bearing fruit. Pederson serves as a One representative in her state and said she is impressed by the number of Kiwanis and Lions clubs – which are influential in the heartland but leery of politics – that have asked her to speak about the group’s goals.

“That said something. This is not just happening in Des Moines, or large cities, or just among people who are politically active,” Pederson said. “This is something that is going on in small towns.”

Read the full article here.

-Virginia Simmons

If you haven’t seen it already, this is the new ONE.org TV ad – running now in Iowa and NH and across the nation on cable networks.

Just as an added note, my mom lives in NH and says she sees it on TV all the time. Hopefully this will help introduce hundreds of thousands more people to ONE and get more people to take note of ONE’s “On The Record” site.

-Virginia Simmons