PLUS: A preview of Obama's visit to Ghana, after the jump... GHANA PREVIEW: The White House is acknowledging that far more people are going to want to see President Obama during his brief visit to Africa on Friday and Saturday than will be permitted or able to see him.
Acknowledges some irritation in Africa that none of Obama's stops during a less-than-24 hour visit to Ghana are open to public.
"I do not believe that there is a way in which we could ever fulfill or assuage the desires of those in Ghana or on the continent [to see Obama] in one stop," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says. “We've thought about and discussed this for weeks leading up to this trip…We understand that that was not likely to be humanly possible from either their perspective or our perspective."
NSC's Michelle Gavin acknowledges "a cultural desire of the Ghanaians to have a large welcoming ceremony…It’s important to them." However, Obama will get a kind of exit greeting from African drummers dancers and the like on Saturday, since he arrives Friday night.
"It's not really appropriate for everyone to be sort of dragged out to the airport in the middle of the night -- it sort of made sense to shift that opportunity toward the departure." McDonough says "watch parties" for Obama's visit are being organized at embassies across Africa, as well as outreach through "new media" like cell phones, Internet etc.
The comments confirm a POLITICO report last week that the White House nixed the idea of an open-to-the public speech…apparently due to public safety concerns about an overwhelming crowd.
A warning: Gibbs says quite possible weather may cancel Obama's visit to Cape Coast, to see a door of no return for slaves headed to the Americas. If the chopper can't fly due to rain, POTUS and family can't go. --
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Back to Africa ...
To kiss Kofi’s a$$.
Better Ghana then here-ah.