Always Another Windmill

Barak Obama has apparently been taking some flak for his reported belief that:

. . . the very act of Americans choosing to elect him would amount to the biggest foreign policy advance of the past 20 years, would immediately change the way, say, a young boy in Lahore views this country, would crush the propaganda gains of radical Islam since the end of the first Gulf War, would heal the scar that serves as a reminder of America’s original sin (slavery), would directly engage the mass Muslim world . . .

At least in the context of East Africa, I think this is absolutely true.  While I was in Kampala, I listened to a lot of people talk about American foreign policy and our upcoming election.  They were all convinced that Hilary Clinton would win the nomination, because they were all convinced that Barak doesn’t have a chance–that Americans would never elect a black man, someone they see as a fellow African, would never elect one of them.

Now, probably this is at least partly because this is how politics in East Africa tend to work out. Relatives or spouses of former leaders have a definite edge.  Tribe plays an important (if largely unspoken) role in who can get elected and who can’t.  Outsiders have a very hard time breaking in.

But also, it’s about their perceptions of us, of the American electorate and who we are.  The last 7 years have not been kind to those perceptions.

Any Democratic present is likely to improve our image there. The current administration is not well liked, largely because of our current approach to foreign policy.  They loved Bill Clinton in Uganda, and still do, because he took notice, and because he went there, and some of that will doubtless carry over to Hilary.  But I think Barak, just by running, is already doing something much different, much more.  He really is changing how some people outside the U.S. think of us.  I don’t know about a boy in Lahore, but I know lots of people in Kampala who will be rethinking their image of America if Barak Obama is elected

(via Ezra Klein)

Well, I’m back. No Bonus posting while I was away–somehow I forget that these trips always end up with me working 10-12 hour days, plus this one had a demanding social calendar on top of it, cataching up with some of our old friends from Kampala and Mukono.

I got back Sunday about noon, and spent Sunday and yesterday with Zag and Weirdbird, getting the family reacquianted, and such.  After a trip like that, I get 2 days of “post-travel  leave” which makes re-entry a little easier, but also confusing.  Yesterday felt like a Saturday.  For that matter, so did Sunday.  Add a little jet lag in the mix, and I’m pretty scrambled in my sense of time.

Today is Weirdbird’s first day of CPE–Clinical Pastoral Education–which is a sort of hospital chaplaincy internship.  This is a 16 hour a week, unpaid program, that will make this an especially challenging year. She has a full day on Tuesday, and 8 additional hours the rest of the week.  This morning I took Zag over to the person who is going to be taking care of him on Tuesdays, so it’s just me & the dog in the house today. Quiet. And I don’t quite know what to do with myself and my free time.  It’s the kind of a day that wants some largish project to finish, but I haven’t got one lined up, since I just got back, and hadn’t really thought past this trip. So I’m whittling through a mail and email backlog, tidying around the house, doing some errands.  Once the sitter calls to let me know that Zag is up from his nap, I’ll head over there and pick him up a little early, maybe go to the farmer’s market.

Tuesdays are going to be strange.  I see very few people as it is, working from home.   I’m going to have to find someone to have lunch with on Tuesdays or something, just so I remember what people look like.