The Irony of Barack Obama's Win in Iowa While Kenya Is in Flames

What ironies.
On the same day that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) in his victory speech after the Iowa Democratic Caucus describes himself as having a "father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas" and seeks to use his campaign to unify the United States, the news is full of widespread unrest in Kenya, with photos of burning vehicles and buildings, because the incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu tribesman, rushed to declare his reelection over Luo challenger Raila Odinga, despite signs of election irregularities.
The background to the flareup over the election goes back to Kenya's independence in 1963, when Kikuyu tribesman and Mau Mau independence movement leader Jomo Kenyatta, respected as the father of independent Kenya, came to power as head of the Kenya African National Union. His accession to power was greatly assisted by Oginga Odinga (father of Raila Odinga), a leader of the mostly Christian Luo tribe, one of the three largest in Kenya. It was widely expected that Luo trade union leader Tom Mboya would succeed Kenyatta. Unfortunately, Mboya was assassinated in 1969.
This week’s Kenya election was a contest between Kibaki and Odinga, who - in an echo of the role of his father in supporting Kenyatta - played a major part in the 2002 Kenya presidential election by throwing the support of his Liberal Democratic Party behind Kibaki.