Today, in honor of the first anniversary of President Obama’s inauguration, I’m posting about Obamamania. Probably half of the time when I say I’m from America, people here respond with one word: “Obama!” There are Obama kangas (colorful traditional fabric), there are Obama wallets, there are Obama bumper stickers, there is even a line of Obama clothing. I’ve missed tons of pictures of Obama ephemera when I haven’t had my camera handy and/or haven’t been able to photograph discreetly, but here are a few.
Although Americans are not universally loved here and although I have heard concerns voiced about the corrupting influence of American culture on young Muslims, Obama is loved—because he’s black, because his father was African, because he is familiar with Muslim culture. To many Africans, Obama is the home town boy who made it big, and regardless of what he does during the remainder of his presidency, the very fact of who he is has endeared him and America to many Africans.
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