FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2008
Miami Herald Ad, Op-Ed and Luncheon Show Floridians
Care About Building a Better, Safer World
Need to invest in diplomacy and development highlighted in Miami Herald Ad,
Op-Ed and event with Ari Fleischer and Gen. Barry McCaffrey
Washington, DC — The Center for U.S. Global Engagement unveiled a full page advertisement in the English and Spanish editions of the Miami Herald this morning (www.tinyurl.com/FLSignOn) as part of the Center’s Impact ’08 in Florida initiative. The ad, signed by over 80 members of the Center’s Impact ’08 in Florida Advisory Committee, calls on “all of the 2008 presidential candidates to elevate and strengthen our non-military tools of engagement to build a better, safer, more prosperous Florida, America and world." In addition to the full page ad, the Miami Herald published an op-ed from three leaders of the Center's Impact '08 in Florida Advisory Committee, Adm. Robert J. Natter, USN (Ret.), former Commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Barry E. Johnson, President & CEO of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Joel C. Hunter, Senior Pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed.
In the op-ed, the three leaders write, “An admiral, a business leader and a pastor may sound like a joke opening, but we come together out of concern for the serious global challenges facing the next President of the United States. As members of the Center for U.S. Global Engagement’s Impact ’08 in Florida Advisory Committee, we recognize that whoever wins in November will need to bring all our tools of national power – defense, development and diplomacy – to bear on those challenges. Only by investing in these “smart power” tools will the next Commander in Chief ensure our national security, economic prosperity and moral leadership in the world.”
In these times of economic turmoil, the ad and op-ed highlight how investing in development and diplomacy can help bolster the Florida and American economy. Similar ads ran during the presidential primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, and the Center plans to run similar ads in print or online next month in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The ad and op-ed appeared in advance of the Center’s luncheon at noon on Friday, September 19th at the Biltmore Hotel featuring former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer and former head of U.S. Southern Command Gen. Barry McCaffrey in a discussion of the global challenges the next president moderated by CBS4 News Anchor Antonio Mora. The program will also include welcoming remarks by Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner and Florida House Democratic Whip Ronald Brise. More than 300 business and community leaders are expected to attend the event, which will also be webcast live at www.usglobalengagement.org. |