The Obama-Odinga Connection

The Kenyan media have belatedly discovered the phenomenon which I refer to as the Obama Whisper Campaign: the allegations floating around the Internet that the senator is a crypto-Muslim. The writer of the (report? op-ed?) doesn't cover any new ground on that topic. However, there are a few areas which contain information new to me.

The first concerns the relationship between Obama and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

“It is true that the Prime Minister and the senator are related. Senator Obama comes from a family and clan to which the Prime Minister’s mother belongs, and they are cousins,” he said.

In the American sense, a cousin is the child of your parents’ siblings. But in Luo culture, the members of your father’s or mother’s clans are your cousins.

A clan would typically have hundreds of thousands of members, and the relationship is more social than biological. [SNIP]

The Obama campaign denies that the senator and Mr Odinga are cousins. And three Kenya experts interviewed by Politifact also dismissed this claim, Ms Hollyfield reports.

So the two might not be blood relatives.

The second issue is more interesting.

A conservative Internet commentator, Michael Gaynor, speculated earlier this month that Senator Clinton’s campaign might play “the Kenya card” against Mr Obama.

Mr Gaynor says “the Kenya card” involves unspecified connections between the Kenyan-American senator and “the radical Kenyan prime minister.”

I doubt that Senator Clinton is that short-sighted. But if she is...

Are both of the Democrat candidates so intent on gaining power that they would risk splitting this country down racial lines? Because Obama has already risked this and if Clinton were to use this tactic, the estrangement would be nearly complete.

From the Gaynor op-ed:

With exits polls showing that rookie United States Senator and now front-running Democrat presidential hopeful Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. is taking more than 90% of the black vote against Hillary, will the Clintons finally play the Kenya card? [SNIP]

[S]crutiny of Obama associations came only AFTER he had become the Democrat frontrunner, too late for Team Clinton, and Team Clinton has NOT played the Kenya card to show how politically extreme Obama really is and how Obama is tied to the radical Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga (who told the BBC that he is Obama's cousin on his father's side [sic] and who ran an unsuccessful race for president of Kenya posing as an apostle of change).

Unfortunately for Team Clinton, the media has not compared and contrasted the Odinga and Obama presidential campaigns and scrutinized the Odinga-Obama connection, although it certainly should have.

Well the Big Media hasn't.

Though it pains me to admit the following, I must: one would probably have better luck finding such a compare/contrast series at blogs authored by people whom I have ridiculed for looking suspiciously at the Odinga-Obama connection. Yes, being half Luo myself, I took their suspicions personally.

I'm yet not ready to totally absolve some of them of cultural prejudice because some of them did willfully lie (absolution is not mine to give anyway), but I will apologize for being wrong if it is discovered that the Obama-Odinga relationship is more than meets the eye.

In light of sheer numbers, one might be forgiven for believing that about almost every relationship the good senator has--genetically, incidentally and purposefully.

Kenya Happenings

Kenya: The Basics

Comments

[Annoying Old Guy]

Isn't the real Kenya card that the Obama's are pulled down $4M last year while his grandmother lives in a hut in Kenya? Couldn't you make an awesome short contrasting the Obama manse and his grandmother on the theme of "this is how Obama treats his kin. How do you think he'll treat you, the taxpayer?".

[First Man]

With all due respect, Baldilocks, I think you miss the point.

What on earth was a U.S. Senator doing in a national campaign of a foreign country?

According to reports, his face was on campaign posters.

Whether or not Odinga is any relation, what was Obama doing tying American prestige to the Kenya political outcome, which may or may not (probably not) coincide with U.S. foreign policy?

You can't be on a team and playing your own game. Is this an example of "free-lance diplomacy"? Since these elections culminated in massacres -- we should be asking a few questions.

There may be a reasonable explanation for all this -- at some point in January, Condi Rice became involved, and BHO apparently issued some Voice of America message pleaing for peace (this was reported, as I recall, on CBS news).

But why and when was Condi pulled in? Why did this all disappear down a dark hole in January? Why isn't MSM covering it and asking questions? Why are we left to piece together what happened from not-always-reliable websites?

Only the New York Sun raised questions: http://www2.nysun.com/foreign/obama-is-my-cousin-odinga-says/

Are the Republicans going to drop this in the general election? Is this the legendary "October surprise"?

Why are blogs the only outlet for news nowadays? "Crypto-muslim" is a distracting side issue from whack-job websites.

The real issue is: what was he doing there? And why?

[baldilocks]

Problem is that I don't think that she really lives in a hut. I think it was just so much fairy tale-mongering--playing on Americans' preconceived notions about Africa.

[usa reise]

I Think Hillary is the best candidate then Obama.

[baldilocks]

First Man:

Whether or not Odinga is any relation, what was Obama doing tying American prestige to the Kenya political outcome, which may or may not (probably not) coincide with U.S. foreign policy?

Huh?

Where is there any evidence that he did this?

[baldilocks]

First Man: Most of the subjects you brought up were already discussed here. I will insert the 'Kenya' series in the post.

[First Man]

Thanks, Baldilocks. I like your style. But where can I find this on your site?

USA reise, check out New York Sun:

http://www2.nysun.com/opinion/kenya-connection/

Hardly a obscure newspaper, but the only MSM to date to mention any of this.

There's some weird stuff floating about on the blogs (a missionary couple -- seems to be bogus), but the Sun is pretty mainstream.

For some corroboration, there were reports on CBS and others in January, after the situation devolved into violence and Condi was involved. Obama went on with a VOA message asking for calm -- but then, silence.

If this were some sort of foreign policy triumph for him, I have a feeling he'd be using it in the campaign.

So wha' happened? Are we allowed to ask? Are we allowed to know?

[baldilocks]

So wha' happened? Are we allowed to ask? Are we allowed to know?

What are you talking about?

[baldilocks]

I can't possibly feature every single story written about the Kenya situation. However, in my fifty-plus posts about it, I tended to be in favor of using links (news stories, op-eds and blogs) from those who have some expertise in Kenya and those who were there (like my father, in both cases). Does Mr. Johnson have some expertise there?

If you don't have time to look at the links, just say so.

[First Man]

Just found the posts you were talking about. Sorry for the confusion! (And apologies also for the accidental double post.)

[baldilocks]

Apology accepted.

I'd like to see what you think further.

[Adam]

I responded several weeks ago - but I guess my post got lost.

It looks bad, but there may be a context that ameliorates this. We won't know till it gets media attention. It's unfortunate that the press collectively decided they needed a vacation during this election season.

I can't possibly weigh the ins and outs of Kenyan politics. Frankly, that is what reporters specializing in African politics are for. Unfortunately, the media has decided to abandon their roles this election, because it's more fun being a cheering fan than an umpire.

Look for more media layoffs after the election. After all, why should their corporate (probably Republican) masters pay them salaries when the blogs are doing a better job?

By the by, you say the word "cousin" is more social than familial in Luo culture. In at least one article somewhere, however, Odinga is quite specific about the family relationship with Obama.