Maddox is a bit of a dick on the whole, personally I'd start feeling guilty if I found myself agreeing with him on most things.
I especially liked the part of Maddox's article where he seems somewhat upset at what he sees as the suggestion that the US could do more to help the needy in "Crumbs From Your Table" on the latest album. He then proceeds to bag Bono for being rich and not helping people himsef, somehow managing to forget Bono's *subtle* humanitarian activities, like oh I don't know, Drop the Debt? That is to say, he either forgot it or he's an uninformed dick who mouths off far too much, I'd tend towards the latter.
I think they're still political in a sense, though perhaps more these days through action rather than songs, and don't really see a problem with that. It's not as if they only ever used the political stance as a means to fame, and it's not as if they neglect it completely now anyway, it just seems to have become a little more veiled. I mean, it's not like "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" screams "prefabricated radio-geared love songs".
Edit: Sure thing TurboTom, there's my comment