I love the lede to this piece on how South Africa’s politicians are trying to capture a bit of that Obama Magic in the run-up to April’s election.:
Public name-calling, political turf wars and increasingly innovative ways to woo voters – that’s just some of the ingredients that define the run-up to Election ’09.
While the electorate is still trying to figure out if Julius Malema is a nkwenkwe (uncircumcised boy), or if Helen Zille is a “colonialist”, the parties have turned to technology, T-shirts and taxis to get their message across.
That Obama is the politician of the global moment is almost unquestionable. But what led him to victory in November’s election was both elusive in its quality and rather specific in its context and South African politicians who obsess about Obama are likely to find that they have missed the proverbial forest for the trees. As great and inspiring as Obama is, South Africa does not need mimicry at this moment in the country’s history.