Obama and Africa, and "Rhetoric over Policy"

There is a great opportunity for Obama in terms of the U.S. relationship with Africa. Not only has he promised to continue President Bush's excellent AIDs initiative and shifted aid towards the provision of tools, seeds, and training rather than simply lump transfers of money and food (the "teach a man to fish" vs. "give a man to fish" approach), but his heritage gives him an opportunity to speak frankly concerning African stagnation and conflict.

We absolutely don't have the money (not to mention public will) to send massive amounts of additional aid to Africa or to intervene militarily in places such as Zimbabwe and the Congo, nor should we do it even if the resources were available. Fortunately, one place where there is great strength in the President is in his ability to use rhetoric and the bully pulpit to persuade and cajole people into action:

While the presidents’ messages were broadly similar—touting democracy, deploring corruption, and calling for a new approach to development aid—it’s hard to dispute that Obama gets away with criticism of Africa that other U.S. presidents could not...

Yet, when Obama uttered the phrase “tribal conflicts” at a press conference Friday as he discussed his planned trip to Africa, it went virtually unremarked upon. So, too did several references he made in his Ghana speech to battles among “tribes.”

Obama got similar leeway when he used his Ghana speech and an earlier appearance to compare the stagnation in Africa to the rapid rise of economies in Asia.

“Countries like Kenya had a per capita economy larger than South Korea's when I was born. They have badly been outpaced,” Obama said.

Another president might have been accused of racism for even offering such an example, but Obama avoided that simply by affirming the abilities of Africans.

We saw similar "rhetoric over policy" skills on Father's Day and during the campaign, when the President pushed men to be men and be there for their children, and for more NGOs to step up and help in these areas. While it would be better if the choice to follow this path in these areas was due to a distaste for big government, libertarians/conservatives should take what we can get and praise the President if he continues to provide positive leadership without creating new programs.

Relevant Link: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24813.html