Is U2 supporting Santorum fundraiser or does CNN owe them an apology?

I've never been much of a U2 fan, to be honest I've always thought that Bono was way to full of himself and a niggling sensation that many of his good deeds were as much about self-promotion as they were for charity. Today, a story was passed on via CNN that U2 will be performing a fundraiser for Repubevangelical senatorial candidate Rick Santorum. The story at NewsMax is a little different

On Sunday, October 16, a unique political event will take place.

At a concert of the legendary rock group U2, Senator Rick Santorum will hold a fund-raising event for one night only.

The thousand-dollar-a-seat fund-raiser has been put together by Sean and Ana Wolfington, and it will take place at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia in support of Santorum's reelection. [NewsMax.com]

It goes without saying that the members of U2, all proclaimed as born again Christians, may share the bulk of Rick Santorum's views but that doesn't mean they're willing to alienate many of their fans by being public about it. In response to the news stories, the band has posted a statement regarding political fundraising activity on their web-site [emphasis mine]

11.10.2005
Political Fundraisers (Not) DATA have posted a statement reacting to 'inaccurate media statements on U2 shows as political fundraisers.'

We're posting the statement here because we've had a number of emails expressing concern about certain media stories people have read.

Jamie Drummond, Executive Director of DATA (debt AIDS trade Africa), the Africa Advocacy group co-founded by Bono said this earlier today:

'Throughout the U2 tour, politicians from both sides have been organizing fundraisers at the venues or around specific shows. Neither DATA or Bono are involved in these and they cannot be controlled. The U2 concerts are categorically not fundraisers for any politician - they are rock concerts for U2 fans.'

Don't believe everything you read! [U2.com]

The NewsMax piece makes it clear that the Santorum fundraiser is an event scheduled at the concert not the concert being used as a fundraiser, but the folks on CNN's Situation room (I thought it was Jack Cafferty, but didn't see who was speaking) included a quote from Bono that implied that he was supporting Santorum's run and that this was a fundraising effort that Bono was involved in based on shared religious views (I've asked Media Matters to do some research on this and provide a transcript for clarification).

If the statement is inaccurate or originally made in a context other than the fundraiser, shouldn't CNN be quick to include a retraction and apology on it's web-site?

Tags: Rick "man on dog" Santorum; politics; U2

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