Bono: ‘This is a tipping point for Africa’

Williams: Where does your music fit into your life? What about your mates?

Bono: I love this work I do. It's a privilege to serve the poor, to be servants of noble Africans, but I better belong in the rehearsal room or in the studio with my band. That's where I want to be and I still wake up in the morning with melodies in my head. I was working on one this morning. I scribble notes on Air India sick bags.

Williams: So this is coming soon to an iPod near you?

Bono: Can't read my own handwriting. It's called "Thank You for the Day." [sings] "There's no storm on the seas. You're just bent over in the breeze. There's no midnight, please. You're just on your knees. There's a harbor and a safe port, but what was is now not. There was no price to pay. Thank you for the day." So I don't know where that comes from, but it keeps coming! It interrupts you when you're trying to get your job done.

Williams: Yesterday I wrote on my blog that we all have the same reaction, we want to scoop up as many children as our arms can carry and take them on the plane home. How much has being a parent changed your world view?

Bono: Before I had kids, in Ethiopia in this camp/feeding station where I was working with Ali, a man came up to me with his boy, beautiful boy, proud of his son and begged me to take his son home and through the translator, he just repeated over and over, you take him with you. If he stays here he will surely die. The rules of camp are that you can't take people home, you can't adopt. That's why I so admire Angelina Jolie and Brad and what they're doing, because you do want to take them home. But at that point I couldn't, and I didn't. But somewhere I did take them home. And I'm working for that boy now. And I have kids of my own now and I have to remind myself that this feeling I have for my kids, these Africans have for their children and to be humiliated and humbled and have your dignity taken away, to  beg for food, beg to be able to do business with us because we have these trade restrictions. I care about the coffee and cotton farmers of the U.S. I care about the farmers of Europe, but at the moment we prop up their industries so much — $4 billion every year to 30,000 cotton picking, cotton planting farmers in the United States. Do you know how much we give to Africa each year? The same amount. If you took away cotton subsidies, and I'm not suggesting that immediately, but if you did, you could double aid to Africa. By that, just allow everyone a fair fight. Then, you'd level the playing field. So the truth of it is that most people who get these subsidies are the big giant corporate farms — not the small farms of America. They have a lot in common with the small farmers of Africa. They need to be protected — so do the small farmers of Africa. These giant farms, this is just lazy minded and macro-economics.

Williams: How did you find President Bush as a man to do business with?

Bono: He's been very honest in his business dealings with me, as has Secretary of State Rice, and we did an awful lot of work. We have had fallings out on Millennium Challenge, which was a big announcement at the time — $10 billion, and it was very slow to get off the ground but there was a war, busy desks, but now getting up off ground and it's really important. It's about increased aid flows to countries that are tackling corruption, and when we see good governments — startup money for new democracies is what we call it. But the thing that really impressed me about this administration was they went against their own critics on the conservative side and decided that the AIDS emergency was the greatest crisis in 600 years and they had to respond. The United States, as a result, has taken the lead on AIDS. It hasn't taken the lead on a lot of other things, and it's low in terms of foreign assistance compared to everyone else who give, but on AIDS, they're doing an amazing job and I really have to credit that.

The strange thing for Europeans, you think president of the United States, he's the big cahoot, he's the boss. But actually he has to answer to the United States Congress. And the United States Congress has to answer to the people of the United States. So the truth is, it's taken leadership on both sides of the Senate and the House. We've had people from John Kerry to Rick Santorum fighting for us. And we need that. You know, we've had great heroes, from the big Pat Leahy, the Democrat. Brilliant, brilliant man. To [Rep. Jim] Kolbe fighting for us. So there's a lot of support for us. In the end, the support comes down to the American people. If this is important to the American people, it'll be important to Congress and to the president. And that's why I'm talking to you, and that's why you're here,  I presume. Because this is the kind of America I love. 

MORE FROM NIGHTLY NEWS

Nightly News Section Front

Biden competes with Clintons for spotlight at DNC   Gustav forecast to strike New Orleans Monday   New Orleans, Gulf Coast brace for Gustav   Michelle Obama on the Bidens: 'Our families clicked'   Hillary Clinton announces Obama's nomination at DNC   Chuck Todd: Hillary Clinton has proven her commitment   Not made for TV: One-on-one with Jill Biden Nightly News Section Front   Add Nightly News headlines to your news reader: