President Obama Has A Lot To Live Up To, Says Bono

President Barack Obama has landed in Ireland, and will shortly be heading for his ancestral home in Moneygall in Offaly.

In an interview for Hot Press, conducted specially in advance of the Presidential visit, Bono had expressed the wish that the emphasis during the President's short stay should not be on diddle-e-eye but rather on the special ability Ireland has developed in relation to technology.

"I would like it to be much more digital than analogue," he said of the visit. "And for people to see our modernity. See, our wealth is not in the ground, it's on the ground. It's the people. We're smart. We're innovative."

Whether the bill for the show being run in President Obama's honour – and at which he will speak – in Dublin's College Green later today passes the digital test remains to be seen, with Imelda May, The Coronas, Mundy and Ryan Sheridan down to fly the flag for rock'n'roll alongside pop stars Westlife (who also played for the Queen last week) and Jedward. Sharon Shannon is the sole Irish traditional artist included, though appearances by actors Gabriel Byrne and Brendan Gleeson are also scheduled. The show is due to kick off at about 2pm, with Obama due to speak at 5pm – though the President is currently running behind schedule.

The wide-ranging Hot Press interview emphasises the close working relationship that Bono and his One organisation have enjoyed with the President.

"He was always very helpful on our issues," Bono says of the U.S. President, "whether that was global health or finishing off the debt piece.

"Obama was, and is, very keen to avoid the cliché of this majestic continent of Africa being portrayed as supplicant. Sometimes with people like myself or Bob (Geldof) because our job is to raise the alarm, the drama that's necessary to get people to take unnecessary loss of life seriously means that you can project an image of the continent that is not dimensional or accurate. I have always found in my dealings with Obama that he's very keen to stress a relationship with Africa that is horizontal not vertical – i.e. partnership, not patronage."

However, in relation to African issues, Bono makes the point to Hot Press' Olaf Tyaransen that George Bush was a harder act to follow than might have commonly been appreciated.

"This president will have a lot to do to have the same impact as his predecessor, whose AIDS initiative was the largest response in history to a pandemic. He's a controversial figure, George W. Bush, but I can verify that at the very least there are a few million fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers that would not still be with us were it not for him and his PEPFAR programme, or his continued support for the Global Fund."

In the special issue of Hot Press with Obama as cover star, other Irish musicians also express their views on the President.

"At a time when black taxi drivers (in Ireland) are being harassed by their white peers and the Gardaí have embraced racial profiling," singer songwriter Shaz Oye says, "Barack Obama is a symbol of hope and a mirror which can help us all to recognise our potential. I hope his visit will encourage fellow black citizens and residents to celebrate and affirm our lives and our diversity."

Jack L is also positive in his take on the President's decision to go to Moneygall.

"As regards Obama coming to our little island, I welcome it as a sign of how the world has progressed - and is progressing in a positive way - that an African-American President can come back to Moneygall to check out his ancestors and drink a pint of plain in a local pub."

Others who comment on the President's visit include The Rubberbandits (who wrote a special poem for the magazine), The Mighty Stef, Jinx Lennon and Joe O'Leary of Cork band Fred.

Also in Hot Press, Eamonn McCann of People Before Profit and Labour Party Dublin city councillor Rebecca Moynihan debate the pros and cons of protesting against the Obama visit to Ireland.

* In the Hot Press interview, Bono also talks extensively about the controversy that followed U2's performance at the Obama inauguration; the Spider-Man musical; plans for a new U2 album and when that is likely to emerge; U2's relationship with America; Gavin Friday's new album, catholic; and the importance of holding a referendum on the Irish bank bailout.

"You can't be having all the reward that these bondholders enjoyed," Bono says, as part of a wider reflection on the bank bailout, "and then suddenly be immune to the risk and the losses, and expect the Irish people to pay for it."