The recalibration of Obama

On Tuesday night as the results trickled in from Massachusetts, President Obama and his inner circle watched with slow horror. This was an eventuality they had been steeling themselves against for days – but even with the odds stacked, they had reserved a glimmer of hope. Hope that their last minute scrambling, Obama’s spate of rallies over the final weekend, had been enough to eek out the slimmest of slim victories. Hope that the Lion’s legacy, one that the late senator Ted Kennedy built brick by brick over the last thirty odd years would endure. Hope that this bluest of blue states would once again reinforce a Democratic candidate victory.

Here's what Obama must do, says Dave Nyambati.

Homeland by George Obama: A Review

The main reason to read a book by a man named Obama who is not the president of the United States is simple: to understand better the Obama who is president. With this as a test, does a new memoir from a Kenyan half brother to our very own Barack Obama - an African resident of Nairobi who shares our president's surname and his long-deceased father but not his mother - shed any light on President Obama as a leader?

More from G. Pascal Zachary

"African Blood" Saved Obama From Scrutiny in Ghana

Ombuya E. Okong'o   argues that Obama, in his policies towards Africa, is no different than his predecessors. He says because of Obama's ancestry, Africans have failed to ask tougher questions, and have a very narrow definition of their expectations of him. In his criticism of the continent, Obama is as patronizing as they come.

Do you agree? Read more, and engage.

The Dawn of the Obama Era: In Memory of the Ancestors

The Obama era has begun. Like millions of people in the United States and around the world today I sat glued to the television watching the historic inauguration, relishing the man and the moment, its substance and symbolism. Tomorrow, of course the hard work starts and the harsh realities facing the new president will break today's magical spell. America's daunting challenges will puncture the bubble of messianic expectations invested in the young president. The extraordinary euphoria that has gripped this nation and parts of the world is obviously unsustainable, and it will inevitably evaporate in the predictable whirlwind of stumbles, setbacks, even scandals, not to mention the structural obstacles, the systemic imperatives of this mighty but beleaguered capitalist country and imperial power that will constrain bold changes, truly progressive transformation.

More.

What Obama can do for Kenya

This week marks the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America. But despite the massive hope that Obama's presidency bring for Kenya, there is a growing scepticism about his ability or even willingness to assist his father's country of birth.

First, the US has enough problems on its own for Obama to focus on Kenya. In spite of his Kenyan roots, not only is Obama an American, as opposed to being Kenyan, he is the president of the United States. In addition to acting in the domestic interests of his people, other issues of priority would lie in the threats and opportunities provided by the Middle East and the economic crisis obliges the new president to confront the challenges that come with emerging powers such as China and India. When not engrossed on these issues, environmental concerns, democracy and the rule of law are likely to take up the president's time and attention.  

More. 

Join our Liveblog on Barack Obama's Inauguration

Here at KenyaImagine, we will be hosting a live blog of the inauguration. You are invited to share with hundreds others in a live observation of this event, share perspectives from your family and friends, and from that part of the world that you call home. 

Happy New Year!

Inauguration festivities, a music concert, begin in Washington DC at 10amEST (-5GMT). Barack Obama will deliver his Inaugural address at NoonEST (-5GMT). After the address, he will escort outgoing President George W. Bush to a departure ceremony.

We will begin the live blog at 10amEST: Kenya (6pm), South Africa (5pm), England (3pm), Australia-Melbourne (2am Wednesday)

Cheers!

kI editorial team

Kalembe Ndile Donates 21-inch Tv to Ministry of Foreign Affairs

According to the Daily Nation , Ndile donated a 21-inch television set to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that ministry officials would save themselves a trip to DC for Obama's inauguration.

However, his gesture was not received well as his “donation” was rejected. The former Kibwezi MP was also not allowed into the building with the gift. None of the ministry officials was willing to take the TV set, with the minister, his assistant and PS not available to receive it.

Read more.

Marketing Obama in Kenya: Introducing the oPhone

Ala, I just read about a new phone in the Kenyan market. Well, the phone isn't really know. Apparently its a cheap Chinese handset (a Finnish reapoff) with an Obama logo.

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Obama: Letter to My Daughters

Dear Malia and Sasha,
I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.

Read Obama's letter to his daughters here. 

Yes, we Kinda did

Was it a blitz of well constructed sentences, spoken extremely well with great conviction, or am I, well, mentally challenged? I heard the speech, I heard the people present scream in jubilation, and I heard others give begrudging complements. But I couldn’t see the necessity of the line that had come to define the campaign. Yes we can.

[...]

On a more personal note, the guy planning to unite everyone won but on the following weekend, all Premier League teams with United in the name lost. And the gun-totting party lost but on the following weekend, the teams with ‘gun’ in the name won.

More?

Obama is a citizen of the world

Senator Obama is a citizen of the world. Born in Hawaii to a Kenyan father and an American mother, reared in Indonesia and Hawaii, Obama is the exemplification of the world as a global village. 

The election of Illinois Senator Barrack Obama as the 44^th president of the United States of America heralds a new chapter in the political history of the world. It is the ultimate indication that the racial relations in the world have gone full circle and that any talented individual irrespective of his colour or race can actualize their highest aspirations.

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The Absurdity of Hopelessness

First we are the only country in the world to declare a public holiday to honour the election of a foreign head of state. That was bad enough. But our national obsession with Barack Obama knows no bounds. 

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My Obamamania fear

t's everywhere! You can't escape it, even in the unlikely event that you might want to, but after about 48 hours of hearing Obama ringtones everywhere, seing Obama T-shirts, badges, American flags on Kenyans' cars and everyone suddenly becoming an expert on Obama, I could only take so much without the temptation of wanting to pull out one of my locks in protest! I mean, what happened to the other events going on in Kenya, like the operation in Mandera that has left a whole community without any abled men (not that anyone will do anything about it), the demolitions on Thika Rd (ok, so I heard James Smart on news say they will not be compensated) and everything else!

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Text of Obama's Victory Speech

Published below is the text of the US 44th President-elect- Barack Obama's speech. Please make your reactions in the comment box below.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

Read the rest here.  And share your reactions to Obama's speech.

A changing morality: Obama and Kenya

The Kenyan papers are filled with reports on the US election; the country is in a proper frenzy. The Prime Minister has declared that we do not expect Obama to win, we know he will. It is all very exciting. I had a meeting down for Wednesday, but it was cancelled last night as the other party was unsure how safe town would be on that day, the day after the US election. Things have come to that.

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I'm not feeling you barack

As others plot to build airports and rename secondary schools in your honour (brief clip I saw of Senator Obama high school in Kogelo), i will be looking Tuesday to ignore the Obama lovefest, when as I hope he wins.

There was this friend in high School who derided what he called Utu Umati , or following the crowd. I never was one for utu umati and this influences me in a direction far more critical of Obama than most.

A few gripes

American Stories, American Solutions (video)

There are only five days left until Americans pick their new president. Over 16.5 million voters have already cast early ballots all across the US. According to a Washington Post survey 59% of these votes are in favor of Senator Barack Obama.

Watch the video here.

Kenya: Exploring Obama's Religious Roots

On a recent trip to Kenya, I sat down with Said Obama, Sen. Barack Obama's uncle, and asked him about his family and religion.

"We were born into a Muslim family in a predominantly Christian area," Said Obama said. "We went to Christian schools and studied Christian religious education. Whenever we were short of something we were sent into Christian homes (to borrow) and whenever they were short of something they were sent into our home. Religion never became an issue."

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What is America to me? Thoughts on the US Presidential elections

Countee Cullen, a black American poet, once asked: What is Africa to me?

With the US elections just days away, and Africans holding their breath, fingers mostly crossed for Senator Barack Obama, I find I have to reverse the question and ask: What is America to me?

Why should the outcome of the US presidential elections matter to Africa?

What my heart feels and what my mind knows are at loggerheads. My heart, nationalistic and black, beats with the ups and downs of the Obama campaign. But my mind, at times cynical but always searching for the bottom line of things, knows an Empire is not run on good will, that there are no gentle giants and that history is not erased overnight.

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Liveblog: US Presidential Debate |Town Hall

The second US presidential debate is bound to be another interesting moment on the race to the White House. While the first debate was on foreign policy, and the third will be on the country's failing economy, this debate will have a town hall meeting style.
Obama leads [...]

Join us for a live-chat on the 2nd US presidential debate.