LOS ANGELES, March 15 (UPI) -- Despite his endorsement of Colin Powell for World Bank president, U2's Bono is still a good choice for the job, the Los Angeles Times editorialized Tuesday.
The idea that Bono -- real name Paul Hewson -- be put in charge of the organization first surfaced in the Times before starting to resonate once Treasury Secretary John W. Snow praised the singer's humanitarian work on ABC's "This Week."
Bono said subsequently he did not want the job and, in a statement issued Friday, endorsed Powell, former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs and President Bush's first secretary of state. Nevertheless, the paper said, "We still think (Bono) would have been a sound choice."
The Times said the United States should now "rethink its traditional claim" on the bank's presidency, and look to the developing world for candidates. Two good ideas, it said, would be former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo or former Brazilian President Henrique Cardoso who both "would have more credibility in pushing reforms on recalcitrant developing nations than any U.S. official."
