Although bush’s two top picks for foreign policy are African American, neither Colin Powell nor Condoleezza Rice has shown any particular interest nor displayed any knowledge of African issues. As Chevron director, Rice has helped oversee a drilling exploration refining and retailing company that does business from the US to Nigeria. She owns about a quarter of a million dollars in stock in Chevron, which named a tanker after her.

Asked about Africa in the second presidential debate, George W. Bush responded: “There’s got to be priorities.” Salih Booker wrote Africa did not make Bush’s short list which included the Middle East, Europe, the Far East, and the Americas. “A Bush presidency portends a return to the blatantly anti-African policies of the Reagan/Bush years,” wrote Booker, “characterized by a general disregard of black people and a perception of Africa as a social welfare case.

Guest:

• Salih Booker, Director of The Africa Fund in New York and the Africa Policy Center in Washington, DC.