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Ugandan opinion columnist Dorene Namanya asks, "What if McCain Were Black?" She asks readers to "mix a deep chocolate colour, paste it on McCain, and here, on pretend he is black. And then give him a chance."

The article argues that McCain's policies are actually quite good for Ugandans. His policy on war keeps Ugandan soldiers fed; his immigration policy would make many illegal American immigrants legal (some of them Ugandans); and he will likely continue Bush's trend of significant aid to Africa. Namanya implies that Obama's local popularity comes down to nothing more than race politics.

When it comes down to the Obama vs. Hilary debate stateside, I'm willing to blame the whole thing on marketing. While I find it interesting that the Presidency may very well awarded in the same order as was the right to vote, who wouldn't choose Obama with Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am serenading us about change?

However, that the differences in policy prescription between McCain and Obama are more startling than those between Obama and Clinton. That is to say, they exist. Hopefully, Americans will take Namanya's advice and pay attention to those differences -- and leave the race bickering and musical marketing of the primaries behind.

topics:
Africa, Immigration