For most of us who have been here in the Clinton days when he made grand historical visits; off course in Uganda we felt his presidential prowess, rubbed shoulders with Hillary not mentioning some of us who managed snaps with their only daughter Chelsea, we can only have something enough to brag about. It was not all bread and butter however as countless armies of city idlers and jobless youth were hurled and really served time at the university of Understanding codenamed UU “Luzira prison”, The Government under the pretext of boosting security ahead of the strongest man on earth’s arrival.
The Clinton era was synonymous with scandals but that’s not so big news at least in Africa where concubinism is more of a trait. We still agree to having a soft spot for the Clintons with all the goodwill they ushered in when for the first time the American president in history managed to have spent some time in our villages and seen shaking hands with the remotest of filthy poor citizens donning rags. Clinton managed to visit villages I confess I didn’t know existed in this tiny east African country. Given the relationship one should have thought that we are in for Clinton rather than Obama presidency. The world outside America has much to gain from Obama’s presidency where he is viewed as the person more relating to them than many American presidents.
There is also belief that since he studied abroad and his next of kin Kenyans, he can understand easily how to work on world stage as he has more knowledge about the world outside America than the many self proclaimed foreign policy republican Gurus. I have heard McCain bragging about the republican experience in managing a flowery foreign policy a feat distant enough for the democrats to achieve he claims. I believe this hoaxic a foreign policy, sanctioning Chest beating and threatening opponents.
Whether relationships have been in Africa or Asia name it, they have been mostly thorny and characterized with biasness propping up dictatorial regimes in Africa in exchange with mineral contracts to American countries. They have gone ahead sometimes with military hardware donations to Governments to suppress opposition and if this has been the Republican dominated foreign policy, its bound to re-open more wounds abroad if they are elected again.
Obama has been straight forward in policy at least even if his opponents blow it out of proportion as rhetorical but its better to have hope than wait for wrath of non caring Republican American presidents in the oval office. We need dialogue in the world today than flexing and if situations allow we need to talk straight with our detractors not to go round problems but take them head on.Obama is not only attractive a choice for being Black, learned, humble background but his works with inner city disadvantaged communities appeals to multitudes who can connect what he has managed in a few years to his message of hope which seems more likely to become reality than ever.
Washington politicians have always talked about Medicare, foreign policy, subsidies to industry and research spending but do they do it? No after getting the vote they resort to self fulfilling projects, why not mention shoddy contracts awarded to Halliburton, the forceful linking of Al-Qaeda to Iraq and ultimate US deployment against world outcry is the order of the day in Washington. When Obama stands and begs Americans to send someone to change the business in Washington, he is appealing to an already converted crowd. So please let him do it.
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