Barack Obama

Earlier today, ONE’s own Lauren Conn, ONE intern and member Emily Daher, and a group of George Mason University ONE members, talked to and gave a ONE white wristband to President Obama outside an event in Fairfax, Virginia!

Lauren is still out in the field working, but sent us back this report:

We greeted and thanked President Obama on his way into the event – and then got a chance to talk to him on his way out. We asked him to remember the world’s poorest and he said, “absolutely,” looked at all of our ONE shirts, took a ONE band and joked about his collection.

Emily Daher : “Thank you for supporting the world’s poorest!”
President Obama: “Absolutely. Thank you — I have like 15 of these!”

ONE members all across the country (we just caught up with him in Nevada last month) have thanked the president for requesting a robust international affairs budge and asked the administration to continue their efforts to fight extreme poverty and strengthen our national security.

An awesome way to end this Friday. Go ONE!

The Presidents held a joint press conference just moments ago upon meeting at the White House. Below is the video:

Yesterday, Secretary Clinton also held a joint press conference with President Preval You can watch in full below:

In just under 2 hours, the President and the First Lady will speak at a reception commemorating International Women’s Day. You can watch the live stream of their remarks below:

President Obama and former Presidents Bush and Clinton are speaking live on the White House lawn about the crisis in Haiti and the need for both immediate and long term attention to the country’s recovery efforts. You can watch live on CNN.com. right now.

An excerpt from a related story in the Washington Post:

“Obama is asking former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to coordinate efforts to involve more Americans in the recovery and rebuilding effort that’s needed in Haiti.”

On Friday, eight US senators sent a letter to President Obama asking him to fund global AIDS programs in 2011 at levels consistent with the Lantos-Hyde HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Reauthoration Act of 2008.

This is the concluding paragraph of the letter.

“America has, with bipartisan support from Congress, made tangible gains in saving lives in many impoverished countries and demonstrated our compassion to the world. This leadership must continue. As such, we urge you to support funding for global AIDS programs, including U.S. bilateral programs and the Global Fund, consistent with the Lantos-Hyde Act.”

 
It is signed by U.S. senators Boxer, Isakson, Casey, Lautenberg, Cardin, Durbin, Gillibrand and Kaufman. You can read the full letter here.

In yesterday’s presentation of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award to the women of WOZA, President Obama offered some sharp words for Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, as reported by the New York Times. In his remarks, President Obama said:

In the end, history has a clear direction and it is not the way of those who arrest women and babies for singing in the streets. It is not the way of those who starve and silence their own people, who cling to power by the threat of force.

Excerpts below, full New York Times account here

Mr. Obama’s decision to publicly recognize Women of Zimbabwe Arise, or Woza, whose members have taken to the streets for years to demand democracy, will probably confirm Mr. Mugabe’s belief that the United States and the West are out to topple him, already a recurrent theme in the state-run media he controls.

Though engaged in a power-sharing government since February, Mr. Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party have deployed state security forces to arrest and jail rival politicians and party workers, human rights lawyers and civic leaders.

Regional heads of state, worried that the government led by Mr. Mugabe and his nemesis, Morgan Tsvangirai, will crumble, have insisted the men settle their differences in coming weeks, but so far Mr. Mugabe has shown no inclination to bend.

The United States has limited political leverage in southern Africa, but Mr. Obama has repeatedly spoken out about Mr. Mugabe’s misrule — notably when he welcomed Mr. Tsvangirai to the White House in June, when he addressed the Ghanaian Parliament in July and in his remarks on Monday.

Today, as part of his trip to Washington, Botswana’s President, Ian Khama is scheduled to meet with President Obama. Although the specific topics of discussion have not been released, many are predicting that the two leaders will discuss the precarious situation in Zimbabwe. This discussion is particularly relevant now, as the government of Botswana issued a statement last week condemning Zimbabwe’s unity government and the conflict in the country. Other sources predict that the two will also discuss their shared challenges, including addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS.

Last week, in a statement released announcing President Khama’s visit, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs highlighted the importance of a U.S.-Botswana relationship: “Botswana is a strong democratic partner in sub-Saharan Africa, and the two leaders will meet to discuss a wide range of regional and bilateral issues, including how the United States can support sound governance, economic development, and natural resource conservation throughout the continent.” Botswana is often held up as an example of good governance in Africa, lauded as one of the best governed countries in Africa and praised for effectively managing its natural resources and avoiding the conflict and corruption that has plagued many other nations on the continent.

During his visit to Africa earlier this summer, President Obama emphasized the importance of good governance for success on the continent, saying that with better governance, Africa will undoubtedly prosper. President Obama also commended Botswana’s success, saying that, “ultimately, it will be vibrant democracies like Botswana and Ghana which roll back the causes of conflict and advance the frontiers of peace and prosperity.”

On Friday, President Obama announced that the U.S. will overturn its 22-year-old ban on travel and immigration to the U.S. by HIV-positive people.

In early July, we let you know that the HIV travel ban was set to be lifted through a change issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), noting that public comments were being requested and that a final rule would be issued later in the year. We are happy to report back that the change has been approved, and the ban will be officially lifted at the beginning of the New Year.

Of the new regulation, President Obama said, “We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic-yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people with HIV from entering our own country.” He continued, “If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it.” Obama also thanked former President George W. Bush, for approving the initial steps to repeal the ban last summer. Obama’s comments came during a signing ceremony to extend the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, which provides medical care and support to about 500,000 mostly low-income and uninsured people living with HIV/AIDS.

On Saturday I joined Pennsylvania ONE Members and volunteers from RESULTS to STAND UP against poverty in Philadelphia, PA.

On top of everyone STANDING UP, our day together focused on the challenges of extreme poverty, the importance of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and publicly urging our elected officials to support proven successful life-saving programs like the Global Fund. There was also importance placed on several advocacy related functions that everyone can participate in including writing letters to your Member of Congress.

In addition to learning more about how we can be a part of the solution, everyone was fortunate enough to listen to Dr. Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health and subject of the book Mountains Beyond Mountains, speak live about what it takes to make a movement to end poverty.

People in attendance seemed inspired and ready to take an action – whether it be attending a meeting with a member of Congress or simply spreading the word to friends and colleagues about the importance of advocacy and demonstrating their commitment to fight for the poorest people in the world.

In Sunday’s edition of the New York Times, ONE co-founder Bono has an op-ed column entitled “Rebranding America.” Part of his series with the paper, the column focuses on President Obama’s September speech at the UN, in which he re-committed America to the Millennium Development Goals. Specifically, Bono highlights these 36 words from the President:

We will support the Millennium Development Goals, and approach next year’s summit with a global plan to make them a reality. And we will set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time.

Excerpts from the piece below. You can read the full column here.

They’re not my words, they’re your president’s. If they’re not familiar, it’s because they didn’t make many headlines. But for me, these 36 words are why I believe Mr. Obama could well be a force for peace and prosperity — if the words signal action.

The millennium goals, for those of you who don’t know, are a persistent nag of a noble, global compact. They’re a set of commitments we all made nine years ago whose goal is to halve extreme poverty by 2015. Barack Obama wasn’t there in 2000, but he’s there now. Indeed he’s gone further — all the way, in fact. Halve it, he says, then end it.

Many have spoken about the need for a rebranding of America. Rebrand, restart, reboot. In my view these 36 words, alongside the administration’s approach to fighting nuclear proliferation and climate change, improving relations in the Middle East and, by the way, creating jobs and providing health care at home, are rebranding in action.

These new steps — and those 36 words — remind the world that America is not just a country but an idea, a great idea about opportunity for all and responsibility to your fellow man.