Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga--an imagined boogie man in a number of American imaginations and a real one for a number of Kenyans--is in the United States today, but is not scheduled to officially meet with his "cousin," Senator Barack Obama. Says Kevin J. Kelley of the not-meeting:
Right-wing extremists have been circulating baseless claims on the Internet that Senator Obama is closely allied with Prime Minister Odinga, who is described by the Obama-haters as both an Islamist and a socialist.Dude, it was Odinga himself who claimed that Obama was his cousin. And the two did hang out regularly when Obama made his last trip to Kenya in 2006. And Odinga did get his undergrad in what used to be East Germany. And he did name his first born 'Fidel Castro.' As for the Islamist stuff, read here and scroll down to the bottom for the background.
Kelley is playing to the preconceived notions of Kenyan and other African audiences. However, the jury's still out on what the nature of the relationship is between the two men. And if the purpose of not meeting during the visit is stop the tongues from wagging--as Kelley suggest--then neither of them is any great judge of human nature.
What I think is this: both men have shown a propensity to take on whatever ideology each deems necessary to bring them power. And it doesn't matter what the nature of the ideology is.
(Thanks to LGF)
Kenya Happenings
Kenya: The Basics
Every passing day seems to bring yet another Obama connection to some new radical maniac. Obama likes to tout himself as the champion of the everyman but at this point one has to wonder: did he ever associate with just normal, non-political people? You know the kind - the types of folks who populate normal people's lives.
Does he have any friends who work at some company in the hr dept and don't think radical politics all day long? Maybe somebody who's an accountant and doesn't dabble in liberation theology on the weekends? How about a truck driver who isn't a union steward whose house isn't plastered with Che' posters?
Far from being "ordinary" Obama is coming into greater focus all the time as that creepy guy in the office who bugs the crap out of everyone else about "organizing" and about how he goes out to rallies every weekend trying to stop American "occupation" or injustice in whatever the oppressed country-du jour might be.
Maybe he could try living in the real world for awhile before trying to move us all into his radicalized version of reality.
Posted by: nocomme1 | June 17, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Wow, from LGF, the KKK itself.
Crissakes. Get some perspective, girl. This is pitiful. Voted worst blog, easily and overwhelmingly due to the croiky "left sucks, left sucks," ignoring the obvious, great and poignant quote from today: JOHN McCAIN
THE MOST FLAWED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IN HISTORY http://www.wclt.com/news/articledetail.cfm?articleid=23261
And you of course know, as a veteran, that mccsame is hated, not just disliked, but hated by POWs and POW/MIA family members alike. Despised for his cover ups and of course, pushing spouses of MIAs on the floor in senate chambers.
A real class act.
And you tout this bullshit "my daddy's from Kenya so I know ALLLLLL about sen obama. I'm a source of info, baby."
Tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, blog to blog....
Posted by: ziff | June 17, 2008 at 08:02 PM
LGF is the KKK? They're wearing sheets? Lynching people? Burning/fire-bombing places of worship? Murdering teenaged boys who whistle at white women? Burning down prosperous ethnic districts? That's news to me. Certainly you have documented proof of this! (Yes, I know.)
Oh and is there some reason that you're taunting me about John McCain? Oh yeah I forgot: you Leftists are "my party reps right or wrong" and presume everyone else thinks the same way. We don't worship our candidates, honey.
Come on. I expect my ideological adversaries to bring their 'A' game. You're a disappointment.
BTW, my father is not only a Kenyan, he is an Emeritus Editor and senior columnist at the Daily Nation, the source linked above regarding Obama and Odinga. So I may not know more than you about Kenya but my father surely does. So you'll excuse me if I take his word over someone who can't even reason his way out of his own assumptions.
Posted by: baldilocks | June 17, 2008 at 08:30 PM
Obama camp told Muslim women they could not sit behind him with their headscarves on. Now the Muslims are made at him. hee hee hee
Posted by: Debbie | June 19, 2008 at 06:04 AM