Pres Bush still in Africa

So, I just read this New York Times article about President Bush in Tanzania. Its an interesting article that says people are excited to have Bush in town, but that people are really talking about Obama. So, far I've found that people in South Africa are also eager to talk about the presidential race. Few have mentioned the Republican nominees, but everyone knows about the Democrats. As I mentioned a couple posts earlier, many South Africans are quick to draw comparisons between the racial politics here and in the United States. I'm not sure how similar the politics are, but certainly people are well informed about both national and international politics. Back home, it seems like there is often little dialogue about politics with people you don't know, but in Cape Town everyone wants to talk politics. I think because their transition to democracy is so recent, people are excited, engaged, and perhaps still angered about the changes going on around them.

I had my first session of South African Politics II this morning, and I'm excited to delve more deeply into a lot of these issues. The class focuses on the current political climate of South Africa; I'm hoping it will force me to closely follow current events and politics.

Here's a link to the article: Tanzania Welcomes Bush, but Obama is Topic No. 1 on the Streets.