As part of their campaign, Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden said that more must be done to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as malaria and tuberculosis (TB). They pledged to provide at least $50 billion by 2013 for the global fight against HIV/AIDS, hoping to at least double the number of HIV-positive people on treatment, and supported increasing U.S. contributions to the Global Fund for AIDS, malaria, and TB. The ONE Blog lists other health- and poverty-related campaign promises.

Bloggers around the world are excited about what Obama's win could mean for health issues. Ray Hartley, blogging on The Times, South Africa, posts an excerpt of Obama's speech on World AIDS Day, 2006, after a visit to South Africa:

“We know how to save people’s lives. We know the medicine is out there and we know that wealthy countries can afford to do more. That’s why it was so frustrating for me to go to South Africa, and see the pain, and see the suffering …We should never forget that God granted us the power to reason so that we would do His work here on Earth - so that we would use science to cure disease, and heal the sick, and save lives. And one of the miracles to come out of the AIDS pandemic is that scientists have discovered medicine that can give people with HIV a new chance at life.”

yannick Santana, commenting on this excerpt says:

“If people have been wondering about ways in which President Obama change could positively impact the problem-solving process in Africa, this is an illustration.”

addis2000, blogging on Addismenged, provides five reasons why Obama's win is good for Ethiopians, including potentially helping Ethiopian-Americans access affordable healthcare. Within Ethiopia addis2000 adds:

“HIV/Aids and food insecurity form convergent miseries. To combat poverty, Ethiopian economists urge for immediate steps to curb the country’s exponential population growth. And yet, despite the Bush administration’s outstanding work to treat HIV/Aids victims in Africa through the PEPFAR programme, it worsened things by ordering USAID missions in six African countries to ensure that no U.S.-financed condoms, birth control pills, I.U.D.’s or other contraceptives are furnished to Marie Stopes International, which operates clinics in Ethiopia. Senator Obama supports family planning.”

Others also remain hopeful. A post on Med India says that Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., is optimistic about Obama's efforts to tackle global health issues, including ones in India. Understand Argentina also believes we have much to celebrate, and hopes this will be a new era for all Americans: North, Central and South. One of the reasons to celebrate, she adds, is because Obama will bring:

“More assistance in vocational training, micro-finance and community development; continue fighting AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis; reinforce global education.”

In the U.S., Obama's healthcare plan includes making healthcare affordable and accessible to all, lowering healthcare costs, and promoting public health. He also pledged to develop and begin implementing a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy during his first year of presidency.

RH Reality Check says that Obama's victory can be seen as a mandate for science and rationality, especially in healthcare policy. A post on Housing Works is also excited about these science-based policies, and hopes they will target people most in need.

“AIDS advocates were overwhelmingly thrilled by President-elect Barack Obama’s victory Tuesday, expressing hope that Obama’s election will bring meaningful changes to health care reform, science-based prevention, and a National AIDS strategy — all of which he promised during the campaign. And there is a real hope that the first black president — who has spoken out against health disparities in minority populations and homophobia in the black community — will frankly address the epidemic in the United States which overwhelmingly affects African-Americans, Latinos and gay men.”

Stiletto, blogging on Pourquoi Pas?, points out that though Obama has inherited huge problems from President George W. Bush, she hopes he will still deliver on his promises.

“For the American people, I hope he manages to find the 33 billion dollars to make America’s health system a thing of everyday like here in Europe, instead of being a joke like a third world country and having 45 million people with no health care cover. If that idiot Bush managed to find nearly 1000 billion dollars to go murder hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, surely, 33 billion dollars to keep the health of the citizens of USA is a lot more important and a lot cheaper. But this is your problem, Americans, and I wish you all the best. “

However, My African Diaspora cautions that we need to give Obama time to come through on all his promises:

“Temper expectations. Change won’t occur overnight. We’ve got so many pressing priorities: the economy, healthcare, the war, foreign policy and a slew of others. He won’t be able to wave a magic wand and make it all better. To expect him to would only demonstrate our own ignorance of the political process. Instead, reserve judgment and criticism and engage in the governance of your country. It is our right and our responsibility.”

Photo of Obama Posters by tonx on Flickr.

* This post also appears on Global Voices Online.

As part of their campaign, Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden said that more must be done to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as malaria and tuberculosis (TB). They pledged to provide at least $50 billion by 2013 for the global fight against HIV/AIDS, hoping to at least double the number of HIV-positive people on treatment, and supported increasing U.S. contributions to the Global Fund for AIDS, malaria, and TB. The ONE Blog lists other health- and poverty-related campaign promises.

Bloggers around the world are excited about what Obama's win could mean for health issues. Ray Hartley, blogging on The Times, South Africa, posts an excerpt of Obama's speech on World AIDS Day, 2006, after a visit to South Africa:

“We know how to save people’s lives. We know the medicine is out there and we know that wealthy countries can afford to do more. That’s why it was so frustrating for me to go to South Africa, and see the pain, and see the suffering …We should never forget that God granted us the power to reason so that we would do His work here on Earth - so that we would use science to cure disease, and heal the sick, and save lives. And one of the miracles to come out of the AIDS pandemic is that scientists have discovered medicine that can give people with HIV a new chance at life.”

yannick Santana, commenting on this excerpt says:

“If people have been wondering about ways in which President Obama change could positively impact the problem-solving process in Africa, this is an illustration.”

addis2000, blogging on Addismenged, provides five reasons why Obama's win is good for Ethiopians, including potentially helping Ethiopian-Americans access affordable healthcare. Within Ethiopia addis2000 adds:

“HIV/Aids and food insecurity form convergent miseries. To combat poverty, Ethiopian economists urge for immediate steps to curb the country’s exponential population growth. And yet, despite the Bush administration’s outstanding work to treat HIV/Aids victims in Africa through the PEPFAR programme, it worsened things by ordering USAID missions in six African countries to ensure that no U.S.-financed condoms, birth control pills, I.U.D.’s or other contraceptives are furnished to Marie Stopes International, which operates clinics in Ethiopia. Senator Obama supports family planning.”

Others also remain hopeful. A post on Med India says that Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., is optimistic about Obama's efforts to tackle global health issues, including ones in India. Understand Argentina also believes we have much to celebrate, and hopes this will be a new era for all Americans: North, Central and South. One of the reasons to celebrate, she adds, is because Obama will bring:

“More assistance in vocational training, micro-finance and community development; continue fighting AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis; reinforce global education.”

In the U.S., Obama's healthcare plan includes making healthcare affordable and accessible to all, lowering healthcare costs, and promoting public health. He also pledged to develop and begin implementing a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy during his first year of presidency.

RH Reality Check says that Obama's victory can be seen as a mandate for science and rationality, especially in healthcare policy. A post on Housing Works is also excited about these science-based policies, and hopes they will target people most in need.

“AIDS advocates were overwhelmingly thrilled by President-elect Barack Obama’s victory Tuesday, expressing hope that Obama’s election will bring meaningful changes to health care reform, science-based prevention, and a National AIDS strategy — all of which he promised during the campaign. And there is a real hope that the first black president — who has spoken out against health disparities in minority populations and homophobia in the black community — will frankly address the epidemic in the United States which overwhelmingly affects African-Americans, Latinos and gay men.”

Stiletto, blogging on Pourquoi Pas?, points out that though Obama has inherited huge problems from President George W. Bush, she hopes he will still deliver on his promises.

“For the American people, I hope he manages to find the 33 billion dollars to make America’s health system a thing of everyday like here in Europe, instead of being a joke like a third world country and having 45 million people with no health care cover. If that idiot Bush managed to find nearly 1000 billion dollars to go murder hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, surely, 33 billion dollars to keep the health of the citizens of USA is a lot more important and a lot cheaper. But this is your problem, Americans, and I wish you all the best. “

However, My African Diaspora cautions that we need to give Obama time to come through on all his promises:

“Temper expectations. Change won’t occur overnight. We’ve got so many pressing priorities: the economy, healthcare, the war, foreign policy and a slew of others. He won’t be able to wave a magic wand and make it all better. To expect him to would only demonstrate our own ignorance of the political process. Instead, reserve judgment and criticism and engage in the governance of your country. It is our right and our responsibility.”

Photo of Obama Posters by tonx on Flickr.

What are people saying, you ask?

We start with America's northern neighbor and the path that took Canadian travel writer Daniel Sturgis around the world before settling and marrying in Rabat, Morocco. With his global perspective, Sturgis surmises an easy victory for Obama today, doubting any significant number will vote Republican:

If people around the world were going to vote for the American president, I'd wager Obama would win with at least 90% of the vote.

In Africa and the Middle East, it would be pushing 100%, with only a few extremists voting for McCain because he would be better for the hate-America campaign.

A 27-year-old female Michigan resident, also from Rabat, Morocco, writes as Kaoutar and listens to Democrats and Republicans at Michigan State University. She suggests the Middle Eastern perspective on the election does not necessarily agree on the best man for the White House:

What they believe is that the Republican policy is what is needed in the Middle East. It’s not that they are happy with the situation there, but that, according to them, the problem with Democrats is that they are “flexible” and that solving some problems, like the Syrian presence is Lebanon and Saddam’s rule (both of which ended during Bush’s presidency) need “firm actions,” like those the Republicans, rather than the Democrats, are able to take.

…I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Obama though, the candidate I personally think is more likely to make the right decisions.

Another Moroccan blogger, Ibn Kafka, believes both candidates have similar foreign policy platforms, arguing Obama would be hawkish on Israel and Afghanistan to McCain's Iraq, and both of them would pressure Iran and shut down Guantanamo.

Does all of this mean that I wouldn’t vote, if I were entitled to? Certainly not: I’d vote for Ralph Nader, of course, provided that I lived in a state having him on the ballot. Otherwise, I’d vote Obama, extremely reluctantly - the fact that Al Gore would probably act as his adviser on global warming issues would convince me that there is a small difference - although one should remember that the Kyoto protocol on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions was ditched by the Clinton administration, with Gore serving as vice-president.

Oh and yes: of course, it’d be a nice symbol to have an Afro-American president, but the only thing he has in common with Martin Luther King or Malcolm X is the colour of his skin. And I must say that I am afraid that his honeymoon with foreign media and countries could undeservedly deflect much of the criticism that his policies would otherwise warrant.

In Rwanda, an anonymous blogger and Obama fan writing under the moniker amazedlife, is nervous about the election:

I pour over maps on the internet, willing more states to turn blue, even though what is blue already is probably enough.

It gets dark at 5:00 p.m., now, and I keep thinking maybe I should buy one of those full-spectrum lights, although I think an Obama victory tomorrow could carry me through many dark evenings.

I'm arranging a steady stream of activities to keep me from chewing my own fingers to nubs tomorrow night.

Some take the middle road, such as this Ethiopian blogger who merely offers wishes of Happy Election Day:

This post is dedicated to our friends and readers who have put so much hope in the elections today in the United States. Inside and outside the country.
So, have a happy Election Day.

Este post está dedicado a nuestros amigos y lectores que tienen tantas esperanzas puestas en las elecciones de hoy en Estados Unidos. Dentro y fuera del país.
Que tengas un feliz día electoral.

The rambling Sandmonkey in Egypt says it simpler in a post titled, The End is Here:

OK, what are you doing? GO OUT THERE AND VOTE!

Flying to the southern terminus of Africa, Paul and KerryAnne of Cape Town Daily Photo shout-out to their approximate 50 percent American readers of their South African blog and offer hope for winds of change in the election:

We are watching the unfolding of your elections with keen interest - the outcome will certainly impact us, and the rest of the world too. Our wish is that today would herald a new era, and a change that we can believe in.

So if you haven't already, do go and cast your vote, and help make a little bit of history.

Coming full circle, we return to Daniel Sturgis, the Canadian expat living in Morocco:

If a President McCain pledged that any Americans remaining in Iraq hoped to be treated as temporary guests, Iraqi people would have a hard time swallowing it. But if a President Obama spoke the magic words of withdrawal and friendship, they just might. That's the key difference. Obama has a chance to do a lot of symbolic good at a time where it's sorely needed. The times of animosity, go it alone, with us or against us, stay the course and other pigheaded Bushisms needs to come to an end.

With McCain, it might come to an end politically.

But with Obama, it will come to an end politically and symbolically. That is why Americans who love their country, who hope their children can travel the world without claiming to be Canadian, or who hope for a better tomorrow, should vote for Barrack Obama.

Este post está dedicado a nuestros amigos y lectores que tienen tantas esperanzas puestas en las elecciones de hoy en Estados Unidos. Dentro y fuera del país.
Que tengas un feliz día electoral.

So what do Europeans think of the latest comment from the Republican presidential candidate?

Guillemette Faure, a French blogger at rue89 is amused but not surprised:

C’est le dernier gros mot de la campagne. « Au moins en Europe, les dirigeants socialistes qui admirent tellement mon adversaire affichent franchement leurs objectifs », a dit John McCain en meeting. Notez les deux attaques en une : Obama est socialiste + Obama est soutenu par l’étranger [..] Obama a trouvé la parade : « Warren Buffet (le milliardaire) a appelé à voter pour moi, Colin Powell aussi et John McCain pense que j’adhère au socialisme”.

It is the latest dirty word of the campaign: “At least in Europe, the socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives” said McCain in a meeting. Note the two-in-one line of attack: Obama is a socialist and he is supported by the foreigners. [..] Obama found the counter-argument though: “Warren Buffet, the billionaire, has called to vote for me, as well as Colin Powell and John McCain thinks I adhere to socialism.”

Alex Engwete (Ethiopia) explains that the confusion between communism and socialism is frequent in the US:

Beaucoup de gens ici croient que le socialisme équivaut au système communiste. Hier, dans le café éthiopien de mon quartier à Washington DC, je me suis époumoné à expliquer à quelques clients les faits suivants (sans grand succès d’ailleurs) : 1) Sarkozy n’est pas socialiste, encore moins communiste ; 2) Le communisme suppose l’appropriation des moyens de production par l’Etat…

Many people here equate socialism to the communist system. Yesterday, I was in an Ethiopian coffee place in DC, and I explained till I was blue in the face to a few clients (without much success) that 1) Sarkozy is by no means a socialist, not to mention a communist 2) Communism entails the appropriation of means of production by the government…

Nathalie Mattheiem, blogger at americana, thinks that the new found love for the S word is a sign that the T word (for terrorist) did not quite stick and concludes that the S word may not do much good for McCain either:

un signe, peut-être que l’accusation de “copinage avec un terroriste” ne donne pas le résultat escompté contre Barack Obama? [..] En pleine crise économique, les Américains (dont le revenu moyen tourne autour de 45 000 dollars) seront-ils réellement scandalisés par une proposition qui vise à baisser l’impôts pour la majorité d’entre eux, tout en ramenant aux taux des années Clinton la taxation du 1,5% des ménages qui déclarent un revenu supérieur à un quart de million de dollars?

A sign that maybe the accusation of “paling with a terrorist” did not provoke the desired result against Obama ? In the midst of an economic crisis, Americans (whose average income is around $45,000) may not be too offended by a proposal tax reduction for most of them while bringing back the taxation levels for households with more than 1/4 of a million dollars salary to the Clinton years level of 1.5%?

Mattheiem notes later:

“un candidat qui a pu “plaisanter” que la richesse commence à 5 millions de dollars n’a sans doute pas une vue précise de l’Amérique “moyenne”.

A candidate who can “joke” that one would start to be considered rich with an income of 5 millions dollars may not have the most accurate picture of what the average American earns.

Claire, blogging from Germany at cheeseburger and sauerkraut, would like to clarify the myth about Europe and socialism:

Germany, contrary to what many seem to believe, is NOT a socialist country. I have no idea why this myth continues to exist:
1. There is no universal health care in Germany. The government requires health insurance but does not pay it. The government does not pay for my health insurance, or that of my father-in-law, friends, etc. Rather, I pay 50% of my health care and my employer pays the other 50%. I can provide my pay stub as evidence. The government only pays for the health insurance of the unemployed.
2. The government does not own the means of production in Germany. Germany is a free market economy.
3. There are certain regulations, such as on banks and energy. This is to ensure that consumers do not get ripped off.
4. Freedom of speech and press are protected with in the German constitution.

Finally, Alexandre Vatimbella at Le centrisme (France), explains that both McCain and Obama would not really fit in with either the left or right wing parties in France:

Reste que, malgré les effets de manche et les sermons de tribune, John McCain et, surtout, Barack Obama sont deux vrais centristes [..] en France, Barack Obama n’aurait ni sa carte au Parti socialiste (dont les responsables se méfient de lui comme de tous les candidats démocrates pas assez à gauche selon eux, exception sans doute de George McGovern en 1972, balayé par Richard Nixon), ni à l’UMP (dont les responsables, ont la fâcheuse tendance de supporter les Démocrates plutôt que les Républicains pourtant nettement plus proches de leurs idées politiques).

Nevertheless, despite the pandering and the public sermons, John McCain and Barack Obama, are two true moderates [..] in France, Barack Obama would not have been accepted in the socialist party (whose leaders are weary of all Democrat candidates, not enough to the left according to them, except for McGovern in 1972, defeated by Richard Nixon) nor in the UMP (French ruling conservative party) whose leaders have the odd habit of supporting the Democrats instead of Republicans, despite being closer to the republican ideology.

interview the most certain act in the fight against AIDS is to maintain monogamous relationships. The advice was seen as seen as ironic coming from a former President who was impeached by the House of Representatives (and later acquitted by the Senate) for perjury and obstruction of justice involving an extra-marital affair he was having with a 22-year-old White House intern.

Speaking of politics, the former President later failed to admit that Barack Obama was ready for the highest office of the United States. This has fueled reports that Clinton is still angry over Obama defeating Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States.

Win or lose, Obama will find himself most often compared to Bill Clinton, the country’s last Democratic President. In Israel, Aron’s Israel Peace Weblog noticed something familiar when Obama recently sat down for an interview with the conservative paper, the Jerusalem Post.

No one in my quadrant of the political spectrum is ever going to be elected President. So my key criteria for a “good” President are: compassion, worldliness, intelligence and political savvy. Obama seems to have all of these in abundance. Although I don't agree with many of the details of his positions, the more I hear him speak the more impressed I am. He is the savviest and most intelligent politician the Democratic party has produced since Bill Clinton, and I mean that as a compliment. He may not be super progressive, but he seems to be on the correct side of the fence on all important issues. And the more I see him, the more I feel he has the same human empathy and care for people that Clinton did.

Finally, Clinton’s policies against Osama bin Laden have again made waves. Saisi Duni, from Kenya, reports that a new book by the journalist Lawrence Wright claims that the U.S. military strikes to hoping to cripple the Al-Qaeda network in east Africa after the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania had the opposite effect.

The Clinton administration’s failure to strike back effectively in 1998 helped make it possible for al Qaeda to carry out the massive attacks on New York and Washington three years later, says the book titled The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. Wright describes as “ineffectual” the US retaliation for the August 7, 1998, bombings of its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Less than two weeks later, 13 cruise missiles were fired at a factory in Khartoum that the United States believed was being used to develop poison gas for use by al Qaeda. Simultaneously, 66 cruise missiles were launched from US warships in the Arabian Sea. Their targets were al Qaeda training camps near Khost in eastern Afghanistan. The twin missile attacks were given the code name “Operation Infinite Reach.”


No longer. In an attempt to get the votes counted and certified in Michigan’s and Florida’s Democratic primaries, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton compared her cause to the recent election (and post-election) travails in Zimbabwe. You may remember that each primary was invalidated by the Democratic Party because against policy, both states moved their primary dates forward. It is wrong, CBS’ Fernando Suarez quoted Clinton saying at a retirement center rally in Florida, when “people go through the motions of an election only to have them discarded and disregarded.”

“We’re seeing that right now in Zimbabwe,” Clinton explained. “Tragically, an election was held, the president lost, they refused to abide by the will of the people.”

Leo Africanus, a South African who blogs at Africa is a Country and lives in the U.S., says you have to respect her chutzpah for making such a bold statement, but the comparison is more than a little superficial.

Given the Clintons’ race-baiting, I am wondering whether the aim is also to us “Mugabe” and “Obama” in the same sentence?

Well, what do Zimbabweans really go through? Here’s an account of what happens to people who vote against Mugabe.

Let’s stay with foreign affairs for a moment longer. Tony Karon, a South African journalist who lives in the United States, points out in his blog Rootless Cosmopolitan that while Barack Obama was correct to “slap down George W. Bush” over the president’s recent comments implying the Democratic contender is a present-day Neville Chamberlain-like Nazi appeaser who wants to negotiate with Hamas with no preconditions. However, Karon argues, Obama went about his defence wrongly.

Obama’s problem was that he denied he would ever speak with the Syrian and Iranian-backed Hamas. This not only paints him into a strategic corner, but those with knowledge of the region understand that not only is Hamas a powerful organization, but they are the true threat to Israel, unlike Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah.

So, he may have come out swinging, but Obama picked the wrong punches. Instead of insisting he wouldn’t talk to Hamas, he’d have been better off ridiculing the notion that Hamas or Iran are the equivalent of Nazi Germany, and pointing out that Bush — by substituting teenage testosterone for serious policy — is essentially teeing up another war that will not be good for Israel or for the United States.

From Oga Tunji Lardner, a Nigerian journalist and self-confessed Latte Liberal, who is being reprinted in a fellow countryman’s blog called Omoluwabi Okebadan, finds some commonalities between Obama’s run today and Jesse Jackson’s candidacy for the White House more than 20 years ago.

I remember how the news of Jesse running for the presidency of the US in 1984 impacted on our global political consciousness in Nigeria, literally a generation ago. As a young idealistic journalist working for a fledgling weekly magazine, and like the rest of my equally young and idealistic colleagues, the very idea of a black man as the president of the United States was a notion we readily accepted as a possibility After all this was “the United States” —with its self evident truths about the equality of man: the democratic ideal that we all so dearly wished for Nigeria, which was then in the grip of yet another predatory and distinctively vicious military dictator by name Ibrahim Babangida.

Looking back, I marvel at our naiveté and sense of moral certitude about the world ultimately being a good and just place. I suppose we were subconsciously projecting our hope and sense of justice and optimism on that great whiteboard called America. To look too closely at our selves, our country, indeed our continent would have been too painful and depressing. So we cast our eyes far, far over the rainbow to that mythical place where someone like us was running to be the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. Even so, a little voice now and then whispered in our ears, the cold calculating facts of American electoral politics, there was no way any Jesse was going to beat the “Gipper,” an extremely popular incumbent Ronald Reagan. Nonetheless we persisted in our little game of self-deception, knowing fully well that given the tortured history of race in America, it was highly unlikely that a Blackman, indeed any black man would ever make to Pennsylvania Avenue in the foreseeable future.

However, times are different in 2008, where the grand narratives of African Americans, America and Africa are much changed.

Nelson Mandela once remarked about how African men (and by extension Black men) are tentative about fully embracing their potential greatness, but not this brother.
As I marvel at the sheer chutzpa of the man, trying hard not to “hate the player, but to hate the game”—almost like loving the sinner and hating the sin—that niggling little voice is back, again. It is saying, and I render this with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, and bearing in mind the properly contextualized, albeit widely misunderstood rhetoric of Reverend Wright, “Damn you Obama… Damn you! Damn you for blowing our collective alibis as black men… Damn you for kicking away our pathetic crutches, now we must stand tall, with no excuses, and grab and shape the destinies of our people!”

This time I am responding to the imperative rather than the fearfulness beneath the surface of this dubious little voice. It is a new day. And there is work to be done.

(Yes, you noticed correctly the word chutzpah has come up in this round up two different times.)

The Angry African, another member of the South African Diaspora residing in the U.S., proves that the process of writing is more than merely throwing words on the wall and praying they stick. He takes us through the development of writing a Dear John letter to Senator John McCain. We’ll skip right to the end result.

Dear John,

I don’t know quite how to tell you this, but you’re a schmuck. I think I first knew it when you shackled me. And I saw you render impotent the USA. I’m sure you’re masochistic enough to see how miserable I’ve been. I’m returning your Darth Vader poster. But I’m holding on to those oil stocks as a keepsake. I want you to know that I’ll be a lot better off without your new life as a clone.

Regards to your creepy (political) family,

Angry African

And things come full circle. Just because American candidates are a little fuzzy on African issues, that doesn’t mean African bloggers are clueless on the hopes and fears keeping most Americans up at night. Ivo, a South African who blogs at the Spike, argues the recent move by the U.S. Department of Interior makes a dangerous move by adding the polar bear to the list of endangered species because global warming threatens its habitat.

[I]t’s going to hit Americans — and anyone who buys American products or relies on American investment capital — in their pockets. Not only trade, but similar decisions made by other countries or by international bodies, will spread this damage worldwide.

Environmentalists failed to convince the US legislature to enact draconian new laws to enforce costly measures whose benefits are at best speculative. Having failed to make their case, they fall back on what appears to be an innocent and even noble regulatory decision. They know listing the polar bear as threatened opens the door for litigation to enforce their ideas about carbon dioxide emissions on others, on the basis that any such emissions contribute to the destruction of the polar bear’s habitat.

Orikinla Osinachi at the Nigerian Times reprints a letter calling on viewers to write CNN demanding an apology from Republican media consultant Alex Castellanos who was referring to Hillary Clinton on air when he said that some people are called bitches and sometime it is accurate.

Abesha Bunna Bet from Ethiopia joins the ranks of those who think commentator Bill O’Reilly of Fox News is bonkers. (His words, not mine.)

Many Ethiopians bloggers rallied to the cause, pledging cash and votes for the Democratic candidate whose father came from Kenya, a country that neighbours Ethiopia.

But others raised questions about the campaign, asking whether it was right to expect Ethiopian-Americans to vote en masse for any candidate.

At the head of the Obama pack was the new blog Ethiopians for Obama which, in Ethiopians Journey for Hope, said:

Most Ethiopians immigrated to America searching for the American dream—a dream for a better life and a new opportunity. Most arrived in America with the determination to fulfil the promise that America embodies; destined to realize this dream armed with little more than hope on their side. Ethiopians—like all Americans–embrace the message of Barack Obama, a message that our lives are intertwined with our infinite commonalities.

Ethiounited pointed to a YouTube video of Ethio-Americans speaking at an Obama campaign launch.

I have given a lot of money to the [Obama] campaign since I was not able to take time of from work and go volunteer at the campaign headquarters in Chicago, although I have made phone calls on behalf of the campaign for every primary.

wrote Bernos in An Obama Minute. Bernos has also been busy translating the Obama ‘Yes we can' slogan into Amharic, one of Ethiopia's main languages, for a range of targeted campaign posters.

Ethioblog talked about its growing disillusion with the Clinton camp in Falling for Clinton and Clinton’s Doubletalk. Ethiopian Politics Blog pointed to another YouTube video describing Obama as the “embodiment of the American dream”.

But Abesha Bunna Bet sounded a strong note of caution in Even Ethiopians Are Crazy About Obama:

Ethiopians. We are not a bunch of herds that needs direction. We can not be told by any group (Ethiopians or not) who to vote for with out being told why. And the ‘why’ should be answered by our individual research, and not by folks who wish to take advantage of us based on heritage.

Tobian ThinkTank's email inbox was flooded with ‘Obamaganda' by friends and relatives. When the blogger replied to them, saying he was backing Hilary Clinton, he got some hostile emails in response. In Surely, it must be that lesbian school … he wrote:

In Conspiracy Brother he wrote:

Seriously though someone please put your hands on me and tell me it's OK to be black and not vote for Obama…I think that's what I'm fighting with deep inside. Either that or it's a case of OCD :-0

I know. Many of you will tell me, as you have, that this election has nothing to do with us foreigners. That it is all about America. The American choice. The American future. And you are (mostly) right. This is your choice. This is about the American future. This is about America.

But it does have something to do with us Johnny Foreigners. We do have a stake in this. Why? Because most level-headed people in this world still look to America for direction. We still look up to America. We look for guidance. We look to America for leadership in this crazy little sphere of ours. A beacon we can follow. A little light in the dark world of wars, hunger, poverty and injustice.

(For musicians wishing to put this to music, please send your samples to Voices Without Votes editor Amira Al Hussaini.)

The Angry African continues, in what eventually turns into an endorsement for Barack Obama:

…We need an America where freedom reigns. Where the government doesn’t tap into phones. Where people can say what they want and when they want. I never liked it, but always understood that people can say what they want in America. I come from South Africa. And we have a history. A history that reeks of racism and hate. And here in America you have the KKK. Never got it. Never got why you tolerate that. And then I understood. That your freedom comes at a price. A price of allowing people to say things that you might not like. But that is the price of freedom. And we need that. We need that to show the world what ultimate freedom looks like. The freedom of tolerance and living with differences celebrated. But do you still have that?

…We don’t need you to be perfect. Nobody will ever be perfect. You’ll always have a Texan talking to loudly when visiting our shores. Or an oil company that forgets their responsibility. We know Reagan wasn’t perfect. We know Clinton wasn’t perfect. We know Bush Sr wasn’t perfect. Hell, we know Nixon wasn’t perfect. But we always knew that they were just and they were true to us. Always there for us. Always saw us as their partner - even when we don’t agree. But now? Now we have a world divided. A world that looks to America and doesn’t recognise the one we loved. Because it is an America that tells us there is but one way and that is their way. Not in partnership. But in forceful domination. We need an America that says it wants to be our friend and be part of a greater good - even though we know you don’t really need us. But do you still have that?

We need an America with a vision. A vision of a better world. A vision of a better future. A different future. Different from where we are today. All divided and alone. We need that America that can point us to the path we will walk. Walk hand in hand. Together. Do you still have that?

It’s an excellent piece with a whole host of interesting comments, but we have to move on.

The letters continue, this time from Kafo, a Nigerian living in Houston, Texas, who writes in D Lamentations. The first letter is addressed to Hillary Clinton:

Dear Hillary

I think i need to explain the basic concepts of life to you all over again. I love you and so i will lay it down for you all over again.

Obama supporters are democrats so attacking them is attacking your base. DO YOU THINK YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THAT.

If by some magical wave of my wand you recieve the nomination you will HAVE to appeal to this same group of individuals that let mii us laymen's terms you are DISSING

Your fairy godmother

Kafo

In another letter, Kafo writes to Barack Obama, lambasting him for making his now infamous “bitter” statement at a fund raiser in San Francisco, California:

“You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Here’s Kafo’s letter:

I knew you were going to slip up
First of all WHAT WERE U DOING IN SAN FRAN
Do i need to tell you that the next primary is in the East NOT THE WEST

Anyway thanks for giving homegirl an edge this is just what she needs
You couldn't keep your ivy league priggy mouth shut for 9 more days
Seriously

I am not too happy with you now

Nonsense

I am whoseying

Let’s stay with Obama’s statement for a little longer. In an interesting post, Akin, a Nigerian living in Amsterdam, claims that Obama’s statement not only holds truths about the state of America, but for Europe as well, especially in the Netherlands, where the politics of immigration fear has made “native” pride quite strong.

Whether it was politically astute for Senator Obama to say that, say it in that way or try to rephrase it in some more digestible language, time will tell, but the is the truth as glaring as you will get it about populist parties and their causes.

The congregation of bitter people who cling to nostalgia, religion, guns, antipathy, anti-immigrant sentiment or some other so-called patriotic or nationalist cause in the name of taking back their country, which in fact, is taking their country back to the Dark Ages of economic stagnation, insularity and protectionism all of which would never yield good dividend in this global village we now inhabit.

Now, we live in a free country with the freedom to assemble for any cause we might be persuaded of, if the “bitter” people need a sort of representation in our political system, they are welcome to proselytise and they would find sympathisers, people who would lurk in the shadows providing substantial but clandestine support – democratic subversion, you might call it.

Orikinla Osinachi from the Nigerian Times takes U.S. mainstream media, and the left-leaning Huffington Post, to task for allowing campaign coverage to be dominated by what should be considered an irrelevant issue.

There is a big problem with the American news media.

Intellectual illiteracy is being displayed in the masquerade of sensationalism.
Sensationalism undermines the ethics of professionalism in modern journalism.

There is no justification for the clamor over the remarks of Senator Barack Obama on the working class folks of Pennsylvania. The Huffington Post deliberately adds more fuel in the flames for want of sensational news.

Can we move on to more relevant and significant issues?

Speaking of insignificant issues, a few weeks back researchers began investigating the family trees of the three remaining major-party presidential candidates. Here is a take from Blue Grass Boabobs (from South Africa) on the whole process:

Now, Obama has a very famous lineage it seems. Researchers have already established that he is related to the George W. “Don't mess with Texas” Bush and his father George H. W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry S. Truman, and James Madison. I guess that makes him presidential material. He is also related to Sir Winston Churchill and Civil War General Robert E. Lee.

Hilary Clinton, researchers claim is a distant cousins of Madonna, Celine Dion, Alanis Morissette, and Camilla Parker-Bowles. It doesn’t seem like there are any famous males in her lineage. Maybe that’s why so many cartoonists find her so “entertaining.” (Clap clap point point.)

Let me guess. By the time the conventions come around Barack Obama will be everyone’s “cousin” and have an even longer presidential lineage and Hilary Clinton, it will be reported that, not to make her feel unpresidential, she is actually married to a former president, Bill “Bluedress” Clinton.

Poor Sen. John McCain. His records are a bit murky. He is only a distant cousin of Laura Bush. Maybe that's why he is crying on Bush's shoulder.

During a very short news cycle that began last week, rumors swirled that presumptive Republican nominee John McCain would choose Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for his running mate for the November election. A Dream Ticket, many analysts claimed. The fire was put out by Rice herself a few delirious days later. It should be remembered, however, that if McCain were to win the presidency, he would be the oldest person to have begun a first time in the White House. Many armchair pundits have claimed this makes his choice for a running mate very important. The candidate has stated his list has been whittled down to a mere 20 names, but he would be making his official announcement sooner rather than later.

Kafo isn’t buying it. Here is the open letter to McCain published in D Lamentation:

Dear MAC

You really can't expect us to believe that you have 20 people on your list of possible VP running mates.

Seriously.

Our last letter comes from Abesha Bunna Bet from Ethiopia. After hearing that groups of Ethiopians living in Pennsylvania are calling other Ethiopian nationals and urging them to vote for Obama, Abesha asks: “As a society are we lacking behind so far that we could easily be manipulated?”

Ethiopians. We are not a bunch of herds that needs direction. We can not be told by any group (Ethiopians or not) who to vote for with out being told why. And the ‘why’ should be answered by our individual research, and not by folks who wish to take advantage of us based on heritage. Just because i speak your language doesn’t give you the right to tell me who to vote for with out you bothering to take the time to explain why.

Even though, i am elated to see my fellow country men participate in the U.S. political system, i am afraid to tell you that what i read on that press release is a very dangerous way of taking part in politics.

It’s not that Abesha doesn’t like Obama, but he would rather see Ethiopians – and everyone else – to cast their vote regarding the issues, not just a candidate's personality.

We are a passionate and smart bunch. Our good days is ahead of us. If we make smart decisions, we would be even more powerful in the political system of this nation.

We can’t achieve a strong voice if we vote uniformly. That would make us susceptible to abuse and we would be taken advantage of. When we say something, it must mean something. If that’s the case, we would be a voice that politicians would seek and want to hear from.

With that said, go and vote. But forget taking part in history by voting for ‘ a black guy’ or ‘a woman’. That doesn’t affect us. Dig into the issues of each candidate.
The issues that matter to us.

Here is a response to the post from gebresadik:

This is a strange commentary. Obama embodies ability, leadership and promise. So if a black man was to vote with his heart, in this case it would be a wonderful thing. Lets indeed be manipulated. Let us indeed coalesce and speak with one voice. This is not simply historic it is power. Remember that most African Americans are only a generation away from being unable to vote. … Lets nbot forget that these were the action of the “First Black President” Bill Clinton. So by all means every black man must be unified to vote for Obama.

…Remember too that all societies in the US vote in their self interest, why should the blacks be asked repeatedly to wait for another time and another leader.

One of the reasons Obama’s San Francisco speech touched off such a cascade of news stories was – in my opinion – that it touched a sensitive nerve in the United States: The debate over economic stagnation felt in middle class and working class families. It’s a debate long heard in Africa, and Michael Trapido, a South African from the Mail & Guardian online blog Traps, claims it is time for all political candidates to start dealing with this issue in very real, concrete terms.

The fact is that tangible structures or proposals for dealing with the ever-increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots have been thin on the ground. While speaking in terms of abstracts may afford hope to the oppressed masses and gain their support, it will not translate into substance nor assist in remedying their plight.
Where are the economic models and proposed measures that will translate rhetoric into substance?

This “great divide” between rich and poor may well become front and centre as the recession starts to bite, and the sooner politicians provide people with a clear idea of how they see the way forward, the better.

This applies to us in South Africa as well.

“The grueling campaign had clearly taken its toll,” a news story pointed out not so long ago. “[Hillary Clinton’s] voice was hoarse and her expression enervated, and she coughed so much during an interview with an Oakland TV station that it had to be cut short (after nursing her vocal cords with tea and honey, she picked up where she left off).”

The date of that story? February 6, 2007.

Five weeks later, both campaigns are still lumbering on with one goal in sight: The chance to face presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in the November election for the Presidency of the United States. Thrilling, isn’t it? Not to everyone, apparently. The campaign has lasted so much longer than anyone’s expectations that even the members of the media are admittedly tiring of the race, as one reporter recently admitted: “There’s only so many stories you can write, and we’re running out of them.”

For African bloggers checking in on the Democratic race, long gone are the pithy remarks about Clinton and Obama and the hopeful interest in U.S. presidential politics. A certain new tone has entered into the fray: Perhaps it’s irritability or defiance. If I had to pick an adjective to tag these posts, I’d label them as “partisan.” You are either for us or against us; it’s as simple as that.

One way to detect certain campaign fatigue is to gauge when candidates spend more time on scandal control than debating the issues. Our first major gaffe came when former vice presidential candidate, and current Clinton supporter, Geraldine Ferraro, made what Kenyan blooger Siasa Duni refers to as a “racist comment.”

[Ferraro] declined to apologize directly for the firestorm she created when she told a local California newspaper that “if Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position.” Ferraro told [Diane] Sawyer she was “absolutely not” sorry for what she'd said, suggesting she had tried to pay Obama a compliment. Ferraro said she was saying that “the black community came out with … pride in [Obama's] candidacy. You would think he would say ‘thank you' for doing that. Instead, I'm charged with being a racist.” Ferraro told “GMA” she was drawing a comparison to her own history, contending that if she had not been a woman Walter Mondale would not have chosen her as his running mate in 1984 — a point she also made in the newspaper interview.

A second scandal, or actually a parallel scandal, occurred when Obama foreign policy advisor Samantha Power branded Hillary Clinton a “monster” in an interview with a Scottish political columnist. Power also resigned from her post.

In a tangential issue, Afrodissident, from South Africa, takes Hillary Clinton to task for claiming she pressed her husband in vain in 1994 to send troops to Rwanda in an attempt to stop the genocide that killed an estimated 800,000 people.

The level some politicians are prepared to stoop to makes one sick. That the senator feels impelled to get political mileage out of a tragedy that the West could have prevented just shows how desperate the woman must be. If anything, the Clintons should be hanging their heads in shame for their behaviour (or the lack thereof) during the genocide.

Afrodissident points out that it’s untrue that Hillary Clinton attempted to change her husband’s mind because that claim was disproved in a 2001 article in the Atlantic Monthly (and later book) regarding the Clinton administration’s actions during the genocide. The author? Samantha Power.

Next up, not so much a scandal, but hammering home on what has become a central theme of the Democratic campaign. It regards a memo released by the Clinton camp questioning Obama’s capacity to become the Commander and Chief of U.S. military forces.

After re-writing the memo on his own, Angry African on the Loose, a blogger from South Africa now living in the U.S., takes Hillary Clinton to task regarding fair play in elections:

HillBillary. Two can play this game. But the difference is that Obama doesn’t want to get involved in a pig fight or mud slinging. It sticks and smells in there. So we’ll just have to do it for him. We are willing to come down to your level. And when the Mac comes - we’ll take him on as well. Please don’t go there. We have too much respect for you. You don’t need to be a Republican wannabe. We want to remember you as either the first serious woman contender or the first woman President. Make us proud. Don’t play the Republican game - that will come later. It doesn’t look good on you. And we want to remain proud of you and know that you are one of us - where who you are defines how we talk and treat each other. You are a Democrat - be proud, but be just.

One final scandal, this one not really affecting either presidential candidates, but New York governor, and former rising Democratic star, Eliot Spitzer, who was nabbed by federal authorities for his alleged role in a prostitution ring. Spitzer resigned from his post a few days after the scandal broke.

In his blog, the Spike, Ivo Vegter from South Africa, compares reactions from the Democratic and Republican parties to the growing number of sex scandals in U.S. politics. He finds one party guilty of hypocrisy.

The liberal left claims to be, well, liberal. It claims to tolerate just about anything in terms of private behaviour. Rightly, in my view, liberals say it’s none of the government’s or public’s business what goes on behind closed doors.

On the other side is the self-styled “moral majority”, who define morality in rather more narrow terms. They claim moral behaviour in private defines a person’s character, and therefore it is a prerequisite for public office.

Now when someone gets caught with his pants down the moral conservative simply says, “resign”. This is perfectly consistent with the conservative’s political position. With the liberal left it’s different, however. Their reaction depends not on their own objective principles, but on the subjective principles of the culprit. When a Democrat (like Bill Clinton) gets caught with his Peter where it doesn’t belong, they say it’s just a bit of hanky-panky and it’s not that serious. But when a Republican gets caught with his pants down, they’re all over it like a rash, if you’ll excuse the image. That’s when they accuse Republicans of hypocrisy.

…

Liberals would have a lot more credibility if they didn’t yell “hypocrisy” every time a moral conservative gets caught in an immoral position. Because by doing so, they betray their own hypocrisy instead.

For bloggers attempting to look beyond the day’s scandals for their take on U.S. politics, Dr. Ethiopia from Abesha Bunna Bet compares the legacy of George W. Bush in Africa with that of former President Bill Clinton.

Being from Africa, i can speak for a lot of people when i say that Clinton’s charm is felt all the way in Africa. Even my Grandpa liked Clinton. Nonetheless, if you were to ask an African why is he such a big fan of Clinton? I am sure he would start with “uhhh”. And then probably something along the line, “he was a peaceful President unlike Bush.”

So . . .

For Africa - - - Clinton or Bush? And which one of the two has helped Africa tremendously?
I have a news for most Africans who managed to hate Bush for whatever reason. Bush had the greatest effect on the African continent and its people than any other American President.

…i wouldn’t say i am a fan of President Bush, not that there is anything wrong with that, i just happen to disagree with the guy based on some (not all) of his political decisions.
But i love Bush for what he had done for blacks (yes Africans). What he had done for the African continent so far is something that deserves a deep appreciation. When it comes to blacks in Africa he had so far led by example. And his steadfastness for issues such as AIDS is simply - PRODIGIOUS.

From Kenya, Random Kenyan has good words for candidate Barack Obama.

Can you imagine how many children he has inspired? I bet those kids in Mt. Elgon and Kuresoi somewhat believe that they can, that they will get there, that it is possible. Hope. Not that they will be president some day or will run for the highest office in the United States of America but that just keeping the spirits higher, we can.

The many unfortunate people he has proven to that they can?

And Archer pointed out in a comment:

It’s been said that WHEN Obama becomes President, Nyanza will become the 52nd state, and all boda bodas will have chrome spinners and hydraulics!

For those looking for John McCain, ONC Today from South Africa knows right where you’re going to find him come January 2009: In the White House.

Hilary Clinton won the important Texas and Ohio state, bringing her back in the race for the Democratic Candidate. She is now almost neck to neck with Obama Barack. I for one think those two are wasting their time with all this campaign and bashing each other bumper to bumper. John McCain is going to be the President of the US.

Simple Reason: Obama is black, Hilary is a Woman. I don’t think America (nor the world for that matter) is ready for a black or woman leader but that’s what I think!