I feel for you having to deal with your father’s illusions. Have you read Wild Swans? about China under Mao?

Buy Danish on February 25, 2008 at 8:53 PM

Thanks but running from his countrymen has opened his eyes. He’s a refugee somewhere over there–a place with a modem (probably Uganda). Or he has wifi and is doing better than I am computer-wise.

Rumour has it that the Red Cross has already typed and crossed both Clinton and Obama and will have additional blood supplies on standby for the Tuesday debate.

One is mindful of the variations of the genie in the bottle jokes. In each instance, the person who calls forth the genie is granted a wish but suffers from some sort of unintended consequence. With that in mind, Clinton’s campaign has indeed taken on a sort of inevitability.

baldilocks on February 25, 2008 at 7:13 PM

I feel for you having to deal with your father’s illusions. Have you read Wild Swans? about China under Mao?

It is not any more complicated than that.

To clarify, I think it’s a bit too easy to say that everyone in the old guard in Kenya is a Communist, as if it doesn’t matter all that much.

Not easy, but an opinion born from observation and from stated rhetoric. Nearly all of the old guard–including my father–cling stubbornly to the socialist policies with which they were indoctrinated during their sojourns at American European universities.

Odinga’s father was the Leftist opposition to the pro-Western choice. If we’re going to pick sides, it seems to me that that’s the side to be on.

Maybe it’s unfair but it all adds to the aura of Left wing anti-Americanism that Obama hovers around in.

baldilocks on February 25, 2008 at 6:02 PM

Cross posted…

I do find Odinga’s bio troubling. Cousin or not, courtesy call or no courtesy call, Obama should have steered clear of this guy. He is clearly bad news.

Unless this is all part of his plan to meet with world leaders without preconditions.

Anyway there’s a lot of interesting stuff in here, including how Africans view African-Americans.

Buy Danish on February 25, 2008 at 5:46 PM

Anything, particular in mind?

baldilocks on February 25, 2008 at 5:26 PM

Any insight on this?

The father of Kenyan independence and president until 1978 was Jomo Kenyatta, a Kikuyu. His main political opponent was Oginga Odinga, known as “OO,” a Luo and Raila’s father.

While Kenyatta was pro-West and sided with America in the Cold War, OO was a Communist who was aided and supported by the Soviet Union.

That’s why Raila went to school in East Germany (born in 1945, he graduated from Magdeburg University in 1970), and named his first-born son after Fidel Castro.

Thanks!

Buy Danish on February 25, 2008 at 5:24 PM

You’re very welcome.

baldilocks on February 25, 2008 at 5:01 PM

Thanks!

Connie on February 25, 2008 at 5:07 PM

That’s something I hadn’t considered. However, both Condoleezza Rice and The Assistant SOS for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer have both been there recently.

What is shameful about the turban and khaftan?

What would inspire fear among Americans about seeing a presidential candidate gussied up like Osama Bin Laden?

If Barack wasn’t proud of the costume then, he shouldn’t have worn it.

If Barry isn’t proud of it now, he should say why.

(They must have put rocks in the turban to keep this lightweight from floating off.)

baldilocks on February 25, 2008 at 4:30 PM

Any chance the State Dept. actually asked him to go? (Rather than him okaying a trip with them)?

I was, and still am, trying to clarify whether he just stopped by to say hello or campaigned for him, as has been reported.

Now I see. Answer: I don’t know. There’s a photo of the two floating around, taken during Obama’s 2006 visit. Some conservative bloggers who shall remain nameless (I’ve called them out before) have been featuring it. Here it is. Note the red ribbon. According to Obama, it was the occasion when he and Michelle O. received their symbolic AIDS test while on the visit. Aforementioned other bloggers have given the photo an alternate context, trying to connect the photo of the two and, therefore, Obama, to the Kenyan unrest sparked by the 12/2007 election results. That’s why I mentioned the timeline.

Asides about Odinga: he received his undergrad in what used to be East Germany. His father was the first vice president of the independent Kenya–under Jomo Kenyatta.

I am definitely not an Osambo fan but…
…
OBX Pete on February 25, 2008 at 10:26 AM

You should be 86ed for that putrid bile.

What’s sad is that I am getting the distinct feeling that such sentiments are not uncommon.

A relative told me about an experience he had with his walking group. Somebody mentioned that Obama was being endorsed by the founders of Ben&Jerry’s. Then they are started joking about the forthcoming flavors — Jigaboo Jubilee and other such gems. This is a group of middle-aged conservative guys and their wives.

I don’t think joking about Ben&Jerrry flavors makes someone a bigot. I do however, think that it does indicate a huge blind-spot and impending collision of ideals within the party.

…The mention of any of these memes – that they’re true, might be true, “sound” true, “don’t know” if they’re true but should be discussed as if they might be – is prima facie evidence of lefty sockpuppetry and trolling.

Hiney Von Pewps on February 25, 2008 at 11:55 AM

Unfortunately, the only time I hear any of this tired refrains being repeated is by Republicans. I realize there is an active phalanx of Democrats who infiltrate conservative blogs and spew ignorance to make us look bigoted.

But the potential of an Obama presidency has sicced our own dogs upon us. The allusions to Obama-cum-traitor or as a Muslim sleeper are not uncommon…even here on HotAir.

So I dispute your charge that any mention of such stupid ideas are proof of “trolls.” Rather I see such outbursts as proof that we have a lot of work to do.

Obama is perfectly flawed. He is a celebrity politician; there is no easier target. We do not have to resort to race-baiting, racial/religious antagonism to beat him.

***
one of many utterly foolish ponderings about Obama:

My concern exactly. I truely hope Obama is a christian, for his sake and for the sake of our country. What concerns me is the fact that islam teaches that it is perfectly o.k. to lie and fool the infidels to reach a higher goal or establish power…as in…POTUS….

kcd on February 25, 2008 at 10:05 AM

***
It will be sad to see the Republican Party sink itself over a candidate as lame as John McCain. Mitt Rommney would have made an awesome party nominee.

This party will impale itself with loose-lipped bigotry and its persistent lack of focus on our strengths and core issues. This election precedes what will be a 8-16 year retooling and rebuilding the party.

Republicans rely too heavily upon independents to contend with Democratic voter rolls. That is our weakness.

baldilocks on February 25, 2008 at 4:30 PM

I was, and still am, trying to clarify whether he just stopped by to say hello or campaigned for him, as has been reported. I have no problem with him visiting his cousin. I do have a problem with him working to get him elected, if that’s what he did.

Obama did not choose his Kenyan family, he was not raised with them, and ordinarily their actions would not concern us. However, if he is going to actively promote someone’s election because they are his cousin, then he has to take responsibility for that. He has made his family his business (and our business) at that point.

One caveat – if the afro-centrism of his church and his relationship to his family affects his foreign policy positions, then that too is fair to look at.

He needs to show that he can be an objective, impersonal advocate of American interests and is not going to take sides in situations because of his heritage.

He has a lot of cousins! Is he going to support all of them just because they are related and from the same tribe?

I don’t understand why he is sticking his nose in Kenyan elections. I see this as a legitimate issue to go after him over. Whether or not he knew what was going to happen after the fact is irrelevant to me.

Did Obama not know that he’s a Communist? What the hell is a U.S. Senator doing promoting a Communists election?

These all seem like out of context questions to me (in fairness I’ve been paying attention to this for some time) but I’ll give them shot.

It’s logical to me that with Kenya still being a tribally-based society and with Obama and Odinga being related and with both being prominent politicians in their respective countries and with Obama’s immediate male relatives being deceased, that Obama would pay his respects to Odinga–possibly the highest “ranking” Luo in his family.

As to “sticking his nose in Kenyan elections,” didn’t someone just ask why Obama didn’t make a public statement about it? But now that I pointed to a public statement…damned if he does?

Again, about communists…most old-school Africans are communists–or rather surface Socialists. In reality what all too many are are kleptocrats. There’s a libertarian/free market wing of Kenyan politics which advocate the cessation of all int’l aid for this reason. God love ‘em.

Hope this helps.

Hillary is a free woman. She’s entirely free to point out to the American people that Obama will get up in Muslim costumes at a the drop of a hat. And what that says about him.

If Obama goes down in flames (and takes lots of Dems with him) as “the anti-American and pro-Muslim candidate” well then Dems should have darn well chosen the “safe” Candidate and fallen in line not in love. Better luck next time, 2012, going with the Smartest Woman in the World(tm) than the latest fling.

Let’s review: his wife is only proud of America (now, after Obama is in the lead for the Dem nomination) after a life most Americans would kill for. He refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance or act respectful during the National Anthem (plenty of pics have him slouching down, ticked off). He refuses to wear a flag lapel pin. He’s endorsed by Farrakhan as the “world’s choice” for President. He hangs out by his own choice with anti-American terrorist radicals. He endorses his cousin’s plan for Sharia in Kenya [silence=agreement]. He plans a “Muslim Summit” and “World Apology Tour for America” and plans to meet Fidel and Raul Castro, Ahmadnutjob to apologize for America.

Obama really does hate America. It shows. McCain ought to run ads every day pointing that out.