Kenyan bloggers on Kenya’s most famous son, Barack Obama · Global Voices
Rebecca Wanjiku

Kenya's most famous son! Great day for Kenya! Duel of the century! These were some of the headlines that Kenyan newspapers ran a day after Barack Obama clinched the Democratic Party nomination. The electronic media also kicked into a frenzy, asking Kenyans to predict whether Obama will win. Others went on to analyze  what Obama  will do for Kenyans if he becomes president.
In Obama's village in Nyanza province, villagers thronged Mama Sarah Obama‘s residence, congratulating her on the feat. A win for Obama seemed like a win for Kenya. The Kenyan blogosphere also went on with the debate.
Kenyan bloggers like Siasa Duni ran the whole acceptance speech by Obama while others like Spin Digest interpreted the message of hope to mean Kenyans also can rise from the ashes of tribal animosity.
Here in Kenya, wuod k’ogelo’s superlative performance through such a grueling challenge should inspire the youth to take a serious self audit that can spur many to set about bringing change in this potentially great nation of ours. To rise up and, to paraphrase ndugu Obama, say;
“…This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love. The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. (We can) face this challenge with limitless faith in the capacity of the (Kenyan) people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then (we can be) absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended wars and secured our nation and restored our image.
This is our moment! declared Kumekucha:
Political ‘unknown’ to the 1st Black-American presidential nominee in U.S. history in a space of less than four years!
Barack Obama has finally made history when last night he became the first African-American in U.S. history to clinch a major party's presidential nomination…….Obama, just a step away from the White House, now faces the main hard battle, against Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate to become the President of the USA.
A comment on the post, offered political advise, which is common in Kenya…
I think he will win, with or without Hillary. I cannot see a situation where a majority of Americans will favour a candidate that embraces an endless war that serves no American interests. Bill Clinton was bequethed an economy that was on its knees by Bush 41. He revived it and surpassed any economic heights reached in 50 years. Now Bush 43 has taken it to the ICU. These republican failures will surely work for Barack. He can spice it up with some eloquent and beautiful speeches and voila!….
Businessfocus thinks that Obama's win will tackle unresolved race issues in the US:
Senator Obama's triumph is all the more significant in the context of race in the United States, with its many unresolved issues. For despite his oft-repeated eschewal of red states and blue states and of white America and black America, it remains true that all US citizens do not see themselves through the same prism that produces the ‘united states’ , expounded by the candidate. If there is an under class in America, it is black people.
For all of America's flaws, the improbability of Mr Obama's candidacy gives weight to his claim that it is a story which could only have been written in the US. While it is nearly a century-and-half since the end of slavery, it is not yet 50 years since the death of Jim Crow laws in the South, the end of segregation or universal suffrage in America. The civil rights movement was at its height prior to Mr Obama's birth
Kenya Imagine invited Americans to embrace the moment:
America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment — this was the time — when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals.