Institute Notes: A Dialogue on Overcoming Hunger and Poverty

Party platforms

The Center for US Global Engagement has compiled excerpts from the Democratic Party Platform that relate to the US role in the world, development and diplomacy. They will provide a similar compilation when the Republican Party Platform is available.

The Democratic platform includes significant commitments on the MDGs, increasing development assistance (especially in terms of education and health) and foreign aid reform. It also talks about climate change and trade. All these are framed in terms of restoring U.S. leadership and national security.

Obama and Race

We should all be thankful to Barack Obama for the thoughtful speech he gave two days ago. It seems about time Americans started having a frank discussion about race, and I can’t imagine who else is going to be the catalyst for this right now.

I hope the speech will provoke a deeper discussion about race in this country. I realize however this could make many people uncomfortable, both white and black, so I’m not holding out a lot of hope. But the opportunity is here for us now, and it would be a shame to let it pass.

Race relations are an ever unfolding saga in the United States. So many past chapters are painful and ugly. For that reason, few presidents or presidential candidates have been willing to address race overtly. Obama’s candidacy and this conversation he has initiated suggests some real national healing could occur, and that’s why I think it would be a shame if our squeamishness forces us to clam up.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity

How to get presidential candidates talking about poverty? It’s not just a question we at Bread for the World are asking. Lots of other people want to know the answer. That’s clear from an event I attended yesterday at the National Press Club. Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity: Foundations Ask Presidential Candidates What They Will Do for America drew dozens of supporters, mostly representatives from groups like us around the beltway. The event kicks off an initiative of the same name that will run at least until the 2008 presidential election is settled. David Beckmann was invited to speak. The press conference coincided with the release of polling data by the Alliance to End Hunger, polling that demonstrates hunger and poverty are issues that have traction with voters, and David was there to talk (briefly) about the polling results. I was there because Bread for the World Institute was given a space to handout the new 2008 Hunger Report Executive Summary, but I also attended the press conference and heard all the other speakers. They included current and former members of Congress. No one running for president, though—but then ain’t that the problem we all were there for in the first place? Based on what everyone was saying, you’ve really got to wonder how come the presidential candidates don’t feel the same sense of urgency about poverty as we all do. Are these candidates in touch with reality? Let me suggest something bold: perhaps we should turn the mirror around on ourselves. Are we the ones out of touch with reality?