Obama-mania, a political minefield, and changing narratives.

July 23, 2015 5:25 AM

It will be Barack Obama’s first visit to the land of his father as American president and a far cry from a 1988 trip when his luggage got lost. Obama will be visiting only Kenya and Ethiopia. Yet each is the base for two Africa-wide trends. In Ethiopia, he will give a speech at the headquarters of the 54-nation African Union, the main body trying to lift the standards of governance among its members. But the White House appears more focused on Kenya, which is Africa’s center of innovation and host to a global “summit” of entrepreneurs.
posted by Sir Rinse (14 comments total)

Some trends

#kiderograss as the Governer of Nairobi rushes to plant grass in time

All major roads will be closed for two days, virtually shutting down an entire city

Obizzy fever has overtaken local news

#KOT is in a tizzy over #GES2015

#someonetellCNN is trending again

The primping is adorable


and I'd hoped to escape this by visiting the blue ...
posted by infini at 5:48 AM on July 23, 2015 [5 favorites]

Was there a comment deleted or something? I'm already lost.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 6:10 AM on July 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Perks of being US President: you can travel with reasonable assurance that your luggage won't get lost.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:44 AM on July 23, 2015 [3 favorites]

Man, Obama just can't win here. By even visiting Ethiopia just after an election, he's being accused of endorsing a corrupt system; by making any whiff of a statement exhorting change (in favor of gay rights), he's being accused of inciting a backlash by activists and of meddling by governments. No wonder he's focusing on entrepreneurship in Kenya - that's about as safe a topic as one can touch.

Also interesting, from the "backlash" link:

Mr. Sall swung back, saying that laws governing gay rights were Senegal’s alone to decide. The United States should respect that choice, he added, just as Senegal, which had long abolished the death penalty, respected America’s position on that matter. The comments quickly established the script for other African leaders.

posted by psoas at 6:58 AM on July 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Africa is a Country's rundown of some local, especially hyped up reaction.
posted by latkes at 7:31 AM on July 23, 2015

A Hot Mess: The View from a Former CNN Anchor

Interesting insight. She overlooks however the numerous consistent geography errors that CNN has made in its Africa coverage.
posted by infini at 7:55 AM on July 23, 2015

Kenya is an interesting country. I recently had a Kenyan roommate during a conference it was interesting to talk with him and learn about what's going on there. Later some folks from the vibrant Kenyan tech startup scene arrived at the conference, and it was interesting to learn from them too. I was really interested in how Kenya interacts with Southeast Asia, particularly the economies of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The next decade should be interesting.

In regards Obama's visit to Ethiopia, the upcoming visit seems to have played a part in the release of some of the Zone9 bloggers (note: I work for Global Voices) who have been under house arrest for more than a year... just for writing about the Ethiopian Constitution!

Africa is where it's at! Such an interesting continent with lots to look forward to.
posted by Nevin at 10:44 AM on July 23, 2015

Man, Obama just can't win here.

Probably because he is not a citizen.
posted by srboisvert at 11:26 AM on July 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Just by visiting Kenya Obama will set off alarms all over Wingnutistan. Is it deliberate? :-) After all, he did say he was working on his "sounds like bucket" list.
posted by nofundy at 1:29 PM on July 23, 2015

One of the more exciting aspects of Pres. Obama's visit to Kenya is the Global Entrepreneurial Summit. Colleagues of mine are attending at the moment, and it seems pretty interesting.
posted by Nevin at 7:24 AM on July 24, 2015

How Kenyans On Twitter Are Responding To CNN’s Coverage Of Obama’s First Presidential Visit To Kenya
posted by Nevin at 9:48 AM on July 24, 2015

Follow #GES2015Kenya for entrepreneurship news (sprinkled with Obizzyness)
posted by infini at 9:55 AM on July 24, 2015

Obama Announces Landmark Commercial Trade Ban on Ivory: It is estimated that one elephant is killed in Africa every 15 minutes – with much of the killing conducted by militias and militants turning tusks into cash and intent on destabilizing nations and looting them of their resources. At the current rates of killing, this iconic species may go extinct in little more than a few decades.
posted by Sir Rinse at 8:06 PM on July 25, 2015

Obama, in Ethiopia, Calls Its Government ‘Democratically Elected’
posted by bukvich at 2:50 PM on July 28, 2015