I’m usually one to groan when some actor or rock star starts spouting off about politics (then again, why should their opinions be worth less than some semi-anonymous guy sitting in front of a computer screen?), but I found these snippets from Bono’s new book relatively sensible (link via Thunderstruck).
Bono on G. W. Bush:
“He was much more amusing than I expected. Like, he was funny and quick. … For all the swagger, this Texan thing, he has a religious instinct that keeps him humble.”
Bono on the Iraq war:
“There are very few things I would disagree with Tony Blair about. Going to war, when he did, with Iraq would be one of them. … It wasn’t a move to make himself popular. Fairly unusual behavior for a politician. We need more of this. … There are those who believe in the long term that establishing a beachhead for democracy in the Middle East is the only way to bring peace to the region. I’m not one of them. I have only to look to my own country to see what the presence of a foreign military can do for swelling the ranks of terrorism.”
Bono the Free Trader!
“The Left may offer more money to fight AIDS or deal with the debt burden, but they scuttle off when we talk about trade reform. The [Common Agricultural Policy] of Europe so supported by the Left denies African products access to our supermarket shelves while we flood them with subsidized produce. … French cows have more money spent on them per day than most Africans earn. But you know what? This is one issue this rock star just cannot take on.”
A Thinking Reed 
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