Despite the rough tide, Obama still grows strong

By: John Mulaa
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[ Posted On: 2008-03-25 ]

!B>Political campaigns in the US must be disconcerting to many foreigners.

Kenyans, who have been sucked into this campaign because of Senator Barack Obama's candidacy, may be forgiven for getting a little bit confused.

For a couple of weeks, Obama was on a winning streak, garnering delegates, his nomination almost guaranteed, and then bam, Senator Hillary Clinton comes smashing in upsetting the idyllic trend. One week the Press was agog over the Illinois Senator (Obama) and then the trajectory changed almost overnight after a well-timed Clinton complaint. The "adoring" press turned nasty.

As for the political process itself, acquiring delegates, super or otherwise, caucuses versus popular vote, big versus small states, traditional Democratic versus Republican states, it all tends to be confusing even to veteran American political operatives.

If you don't get the math it is not because you suffer from aculculia — a deficit in number processing ability. Just before the Texas primary, Clinton threw her hands in the air in desperation about the primary that divvies up delegates based on a complicated formula that is a mix of popular and caucus voting.

Despite her win in the popular vote, Clinton barely got more delegates than Obama. In fact, Obama won the caucus vote.

Now it is on to Pennsylvania and another cycle of intense political battles, strategic mudslinging, and astute on the ground organisation needed by either candidate to pull off a victory. In the meantime, the media glare is on Obama. The media are performing vetting of its own, the kind that Clinton claims she has been through several times and is unafraid to go through yet one more time.

The past few weeks have not been very kind to Obama, in terms of press scrutiny and coverage. First was the hammering because of his association with a Chicago businessman, Mr Tony Rizko, who has been indicted on a whole slew of charges. The timing of the "scandal" took a toll on Obama's chances of winning Texas. The senator is not legally at risk over the association and has since come clean to the satisfaction of the major papers in his hometown, Chicago, two of which subjected him to a three-hour grilling and exonerated him.

There is a dictum in American politics that if you are explaining, you are losing, or at the very least getting distracted from important things that need focus. Just after laying the Rizko matter to rest, at least for now, other troubles surfaced. This time the words of Obama's former pastor, Dr. Jeremiah Wright. Snippets of the pastor's summons started popping up all over the place.

On the defensive

The Press, especially sections out to inflict maximum damage on the Senator, exploded in an orgy of indignation.

Obama was on the defensive again. He denounced the pastor's comments that implied the 9/11 was in some ways just desserts for America. Apparently that was not enough hence the speech he gave early this week in Philadelphia. I listened to the entire speech live.

Jeremiah Wright Preaches
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Uplifting moments or speeches are rare or abundant depending on where they are sourced, but rarely do they emanate from a political pulpit.

With serious demeanour and almost sombre tone, Obama tackled the matter with intellectual sophistication and ease that was simple and profound at the same time. He sequentially went through what makes him tick, the important influences in his life (including the pastor) and then he broadened the subject to race in America. The speech was transfixing in the way it surfaced the issues without rancour and without being dismissive. It was simply a statement of where America is on race matters and the choice it faces. Either opt to begin seriously dealing with race or remain stuck in the stalemate for the foreseeable future. The choice, he said, was America's. He was offering his services should Americans so decide.

Obama viewed in isolation sometimes appears to be too good to be true. The more you learn about him, especially the influences in his life, the more he stands out as an anchored and thoroughly balanced individual — the kind that appear once or twice in a generation. Apparently, we have his mother, Ms Stanley Ann Dunham, (her father gave her a male name) to thank for the grounding. Until last week when the New York Times shed light on her, few Americans knew who she was and what she was about. It turns out she was a broad minded and curious PhD holder (800 page dissertation in anthropology) and a hard taskmaster, who for a period, home-schooled Obama and imbued in him a sense of service, honesty and bridge building.

Obama sought out his Kenyan roots to complete the circle of who he was. His mother, who died in 1995, provided him with the ability to do so. Knowing oneself is a feat few manage. Obama did. Now he is ready to take America along the path of self-discovery through honesty and building bridges across all divides. Behind the successful Obama there was Stanley.

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

About The Author: John Mulaa is a Researcher and Consultant (World Bank) based in Washington DC. He is also a columnist with the East African Standard. Earlier in his Journalism career, he worked with the Weekly Review (defunct) and the Daily Nation publications in Kenya, as a foreign correspondent.

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