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Obama in town

Barack is in Dar today and tomorrow. The country has seen crazy amounts of media focusing on his visit. To me, this is awkward.

It's not awkward because it's overhyped. It's awkward because from what I know about leadership, security and communication today, a lot of it is engineered.

Imagine you're in Barack's shoes: Your trip to Tanzania was tentatively scheduled about a year ago. You have an adviser who has at least 10 arguments why the US is politically and economically invested in the East African region. You have an agent who is advising you on the method of your travel; everything from the suit you will wear to the wheels of your car. You also have a media analyst who has been studying the country's most common and least common media topics.

The set up can be further illustrated.

My point is this: Barack isn't the only guy visiting Tanzania. He comes with an entourage, indeed a country. This comes with a complex set of considerations for all Tanzanians. Instead, we seem to be awkwardly focusing our attention on the man himself. As cool as he may be, unfortunately I don't think this is a time to be jazzed by the guy. 
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