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Our Myopic Media

Hillary Clinton moved on from the Democratic Republic of Congo and particularly her trip to Goma and is now in Nigeria where she is continuing the balancing act between proclaiming alliances and demanding accountability, with heavy emphasis on reducing graft.

Clinton’s Goma trip, which actually was quite remarkable given the tendency of outsiders to swoop into Kinshasa and out as soon as possible, was naturally overshadowed by the ability of the American media to focus on the most inane possible distraction at the expense of a real story. And so rather than address the important issues, such as what Clinton saw in a Goma refugee camp or her powerful remarks on ending sexual violence, the emphasis was naturally on a misunderstanding in which Clinton upbraided a questioner at a press conference. I’d try to blame all of us by saying something pithy like “we get the Africa coverage we deserve,” but I suspect this is not true, and I sure know that the people of the DRC deserve better than this.

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