Dancing Bush

http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=76613&feedType=VideoRSS&feedName=TopNews&rpc=23&sp=true

At least Bush is having a good time with his last few months in office. Actually, I’m quite proud of him for doing what is required of every white man or woman upon arrival in any African country; embarrassing themselves as they try to move to the rhythms that our white bodies just can’t seem to find. He looks about as comfortable here as my dad did when called upon to dance in Ghana (unfortunately no video link for that one).

It appears that Africa loves Bush! Then again, I think any African leader will love any US President who increases federal aid by the amounts that Bush did. It is for this reason that all of the pundits are saying that Bush has done more for Africa than any previous president. I will admit that pumping in more money for HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB are important, but this money is still feeding a broken system. We’ll see how it all falls out in 5 years I guess…but dance like there’s no tomorrow Mr. Bush. Well…I guess he knows that!

Raise Your Glass

Unless you’ve been living in a bubble, you are probably aware of the craze that Barack Obama has created in the United States. In addition, you might also be aware that this Obama-rama or Obama-mania or Obama-paloza has spread beyond the borders of the United States and created excitement around the globe. However, none more so than in Kenya, the homeland of Mr. Obama’s father, where unfortunately recent presidential elections there have left what was once a ’stable’ (I use this word lightly because only those who dug no deeper than the surface would have said it was stable) African country in tatters. The joke that the US might have a Luo (minority ethnic group in Kenya who historically has had little political power) President in Obama before Kenya does still holds water, but it is no longer that funny after the atrocities that were committed in the Kenyan countryside between Luo’s and Kikuyu’s. However, this was not the point of this entry. The point is to say that despite these political and social problems in Kenya, Obamamania continues to grip that country. So much so that the most popular beer is a cheap lager affectionately called Senator, in honor of our (hopeful) next US President.

Click on the beer for an article from the BBC:

Pundits still continue to question Obama’s charisma and silver-tongue, but when will this stop? When will people realize that these are as important qualities in a national leader as policy know-how and ‘experience’, which, by the way, is never really explained by Hillary (McCain has done a better job of attacking this recently regarding International Security issues). So the 2 term Senator from NY has more experience than the 1 term Senator from Illinois? Oh yeah, the 8 years as 1st Lady apparently counts as experience, despite a failed health reform plan. What the US needs today is not more of the same ‘experience’ that everyone in Washington shares (and is the hallmark of Obama’s rhetoric). We need someone with fresh ‘experience’, different ‘experience’, who can cross the aisle and start healing the wounds that 8 years of division have created in our country. Can Hillary do that? No, because she is even more polarizing outside of the Democratic party than McCain is within the Republican party.

I’ve got more to say on this, but I won’t say it here. What I will say is this: wherever you are are in the world, if you got a Senator or any other beer for that matter, tip one back and toast Obama!