Against a Racist Interpretation of Kenya's Problems

Anne Applebaum at Slate makes a short but persuasive argument that the problems in Kenya arise for popular revolt against a stolen election, among other uniquely Kenyan factors, and not the usual "them Africans can't govern themselves" memes one usually encounters.

....there is nothing mysterious about the anger or the unrest, nothing that requires more Live Aid concerts or global outpourings of emotion, nothing especially "African" about Kenya's problems at all. Kenya needs a cleaner, more democratic, more rule-abiding government; it needs to eliminate the licenses and regulations that create the opportunity for bribery; it needs to apply the law equally to all citizens. The West can help Kenya change these things by encouraging these values through the nature of the aid it gives and the strings attached to aid. Ultimately, though, Kenya's political elite will have to decide what kind of country it wants its children to live in. Yes, there are cultural factors; yes, Kenya is unique; but in the end, politics, not culture, lie at the heart of the country's current problems.

But while we are on the subject of Africa, does anyone know what any of the candidates running for the most powerful executive office in the world thinks we should do in response to the ongoing crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo? As Senator, Barack Obama has made requests to Condoleeza Rice to formulate a policy response to violence against women in Congo.