I thought Bono was supposed to be a Massive Elvis fan?
He even based a character called "Mephisto" on Elvis and closed his shows with CHFIL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6ZcxSYE5_I
This poem "AMERICAN DAVID" is by no means a Whitewash of Elvis and his life- in fact in some parts it is brutally honest, and in other parts it is simply commenting on urban legends about Elvis.
In these parts, I am sure it is not a personal attack by Bono- but just part of an essay on the cultural phenomenon of Elvis.