No Experience?

While we wait for everyone to cast their votes for the first topic of discussion, I just wanted to share some thoughts.   The main criticism that has been leveled at candidate, Barack Obama, has been his lack of experience-particularly in foreign policy.  I did not know of any particular experience in the foreign policy realm myself.  Until, I was reading my TIME magazine, as I always do,  and came across an in depth look at the situation in Kenya.  Why should we care?  Because Kenya had, up until now, been one of the more stabilized, democratic countries in Africa, and because it borders the more volatile Somalia, with no lack of Islamic extremists.  And as I was reading, I came across this paragraph:

"The instability in Kenya has so alarmed the Administration that Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice reached out for help to an unlikely ally...Barack Obama, whose father was from western Kenya and who has relatives near the city of Kisumu...Obama recorded a message, aired on the Voice of America, calling for calm.  On Jan. 3, the day of the Iowa caucuses, he spoke with South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who had flown to Nairobi, the capital, to see if he could negotiate a peace.  In the days since his Iowa victory, Obama has had near daily conversations with the U.S. ambassador in Nairobi, Michael Ranneberger, or with Kenya's opposition leader, Raila Odinga.  Obama was trying to reach Kibaki as well." (TIME, 1/21/08, pg.43)  

I thought this to be an interesting piece of information: that as he campaigns, he is working with a Republican administration doing diplomatic work.  Was I the only one who didn't know?