“A tragedy like that is literally a stain on the conscience of the world. Now there’s an ad by the ONE Campaign and it says famine is obscene. Famine is obscene. And I know that for those of you who have seen the suffering up close, I know it haunts you as well. It haunts all of us. But it stiffens our resolve to do something about it.”

He also recognized the work of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Administrator Raj Shah, declaring that the current crisis in the Horn of Africa is a “stain on the conscience of the world,” and that he and his administration are “motivated by a simple proposition: helping people in times of crisis is the right thing to do.”

The vice president also focused on praising programs like Feed the Future, which he said that his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, had taken an especially strong interest in after her visit to Somalia earlier this year. Sustainable agricultural initiatives are, he said, crucial for development and food security around the world and allow the world’s poorest communities to have the opportunity to restore “the basic dignity that comes from being able to feed your family without having to turn to anyone for help.”

Ending his remarks with a personal pledge for his continued support for programs that will help alleviate extreme poverty, Vice President Biden said that development is an integral matter for US and international security. Additionally, he made a special call to Congress to avoid cuts to foreign aid in even current climates of economic instability.

Through his words of encouragement to foreign aid advocates and development programs to continue in the fight to help save millions of lives around the world, Vice President Biden’s remarks served as a great show of support for the work that ONE and our members around the world do every day. Join us in thanking him for his message on Twitter at @VP, and make your own pledge to fight the famine and feed the future by signing our petition today.

“Yesterday I had the moment of a lifetime to meet Vice President Biden during a campaign rally at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN and advocate for ONE and the world’s poorest people. I showed up extra early in my ONE shirt and managed to get up front.

After the rally, I had a chance to speak with the Vice President, and during our brief conversation he told me that he is a huge fan of ONE. I thanked him for his support in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases in developing countries.

At a time when so many of us – including myself – are living in tough times, I am thankful that our elected leaders continue to recognize that for millions of people who are living in developing countries, the definition of “tough times” is a matter of life versus death. As we continue to fight to improve our own situations, let’s continue our fight for the world’s most vulnerable people too and create a better and safer world for all!”

Thank you, Rochelle, for all you do, and all you do to inspire us! Be sure to watch our video with Rochelle on YouTube.

Five ONE members and I attended a rally for Ohio Governor Ted Strickland who was joined by special guest Vice President Joe Biden at the University of Akron yesterday. While waiting for the speakers to arrive, we sparked up a conversation with a couple University of Akron students who were so intrigued by us that they threw on our ONE shirts and wristbands!

After the event, Vice President Biden shook hands with the first few rows of the crowd and when he got to us he said, “ONE! Thanks for your work!” We thanked him for being a champion for the world’s poor, and then urged him to support ONE’s ask of 6 billion dollars to the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria over the next 3 years.

Vice President Biden immediately put on the ONE band, grabbed my camera from my hand, and gave it to a nearby secret service agent so we could take a picture with him! He also took the time to shake the hands of our other volunteers further down the line.

Want to be a part of exciting opportunities like this? Be sure to join us on Facebook and Twitter for frequent updates.

-Beth Kaltenbach, ONE Vote 2010 Organizer, Ohio

From CNN:

Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa during the week of June 7, the White House announced Thursday.

Among other things, Biden will meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak “to discuss a full range of bilateral and regional issues,” according to a White House statement. The vice president will also represent the United States during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Biden will be joined by his wife during the trip, the statement noted.

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

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

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

Move over Washington University! You may have had vice presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden in St. Louis for the debate, but ONE Webster had the ONE Campaign Tour Bus! Sporting a giant ONE logo and blasting great music, the ONE Campaign tour bus attracted students as we tabled throughout the day to promote our vice presidential debate watch party that evening.

Not only did we have the bus, but former Missouri Governor Bob Holden put on a pre-debate analysis with a panel of experts from universities across St. Louis. We packed Webster’s Sunnen Lounge with 170 people. After the chairs ran out, people piled in around the sides and back.

I figured the current economic crisis would dominate the debate, but I wanted [ONE to be there to] make sure everyone remembered those who have been living in an economic crisis their entire lives.

Thank you to all of the ONE Webster volunteers and our co-sponsors: Holden Public Policy Forum, Webster Rock the Vote, College Republicans and College Democrats.

-Nick Stevens, ONE Webster President and OCC COA

I handed Dr. Biden a ONE band; she thanked me enthusiastically and immediately put it on! When Senator Biden approached and I held out the white band he laughed, “I already have so many ONE bands. I need to start wearing one regularly!” Sounds like a good idea to me!

-Lauren Conn

The audio is a little rough in this video clip, so I transcribed a few key bits of what Senator Biden says below.

First he talked proudly about how he

“shepherded through the new AIDS, malaria, and Tuberculosis proposal [PEPFAR] that went from 30 billion to 50 billion and by the way, George W. Bush deserves great credit.”

And then after Tyler handed Biden a ONE shirt, which he held up for the crowd, Senator Biden told this great story:

“When Barack Obama picked me and asked me to be his vice president, I talked [...to my wife]. And my wife told me the night before… I don’t know about you guys, but my wife is such a busy mother and grandmother and teacher…and all of the notes at our house are literally taped to the bathroom mirrors…so literally notes are on the mirror any where I shave.

And she had a ONE decal, you know the big decals you have like this? Only it was white with blue on it. And she had [written] underneath ONE, she had ‘squared’. That’s me. ONE Squared. Between Barack Obama and me we are going to ONE Square it.”

-Chris Scott