Africa gets one small mention in the first debate

Having managed to stay up all night (inspite of the heavy meal I had for dinner), I thoroughly enjoyed watching this 1st of the US Presidential debates.

I think it was an even outcome.

As this was meant to be focused on Foreign policy, they touched on the usual bases - Iraq, Afghanistan and Russia. But only towards the very end of the debate did Barack Obama mention Africa in a sentence where he talked about the growing influence of China around the world while the US remained fixated with Iraq.

So much for an African policy?

Update: Upon seeing the transcript, I realised that I'd missed another reference to Africa made by John McCain. Here it is:

"And I have a record -- and Somalia, I opposed that we should turn -- turn the force in Somalia from a peacekeeping force into a peacemaking force, which they were not capable of."

Photo credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times