Every black person (and many white people) we met brought up President Obama as soon as they found out we are American. Or they just wanted to fist-bump us, as was the case with our tour guide at Nelson Mandela's house (more on that later). Obama is clearly revered throughout the continent. Many of them mentioned him in the same breath as Nelson Mandela. We responded by agreeing that what Obama symbolizes is extraordinary, but warning that his reality is that he has a very difficult job right now, his poll numbers are sinking, and he may not get re-elected. Hey, not to be a jerk, but that's the reality, and people need to hear it.
Obama also has a place in American soccer fan culture. We saw numerous hand-made signs declaring "Yes We Can!" at the games. We even chanted it during the second half of the USA-Slovenia game. I suppose most US soccer fans are from blue states, or at least fit the Democrats' worldview more than the Republicans'.
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