Barak's International Influence

These two articles remind me of a comment I heard at school about how Obama would have more influence in international politics than Hilary because of of his race and because he is male, rather than female and will be regarded with more respect in areas in the Middle East where women are actively discriminated against. These two articles have different takes on the matter.
In this articles, the focus was on the color of his skin rather than his gender. The author states that, for people in the third world, most of whom are colored, Obama will be the first president of the United States, and one of the few big players in international politics, who looks like themselves, the "good guys" not some other leader whose policies will most likely add more strife to their lives. http://www.newsweek.com/id/91621

This article describes Obama's current image in Kenya. because his father was born in Kenya and because he himself pays attention to whatever is going on there, he is widely regarded as a hero.

http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/ov/archive/2008/01/14/for-kenyans-barack-is-a-hero.aspx

His ties to Kenya give him a lot of power in that country, which is especially important now with regards to the current political turmoil in Kenya.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/01/17/kenyaprotests.ap/index.html