When in Kenya it becomes clear: Obama is very much the rock star here. When people find out you are an American, they bring him up. When you discuss politics of any sort, they bring him up. T-Shirts, vehicles, banners, bearing his name and likeness are very prevalent. But I got a chuckle while sitting in my wife's sister and brother-in-law's living room a couple of weeks ago. They were watching TV when news of Obama's winning the Nobel Peace Prize was reported. Either they had the all-Swahili station on or the volume was too low for me to hear, so they had to explain it to me.
"Wow. Obama won the Nobel. How nice!" Rachel's sister, Mumbi, said.
There was a long pause. Then her husband, Wachira, said, "But what really has he done?"
Rachel's dad seemed puzzled over it too. Do they love him like crazy here? Yes. Do they consider him their man? Yes. Was he a shoe-in to win the Nobel in some later year? Yes. But for all their love and adulation, some people in Kenya still don't understand why they'd give it to him now.