PRETORIA, southern Africa -- In thi...

PRETORIA, southern Africa -- In this abiding habitation Sen. Barack Obama is having derange getting a meeting with the president. When he gains to Kenya in a not many days, his deceased father's homeland, Obama will be treated practically as if he were a head of state.

"Now, I just have to remind everyone that I'm not a Kenyan politician," Obama said Tuesday.

The Illinois Democrat sought to lower soaring expectations -- from enlargeed family members to politicians from the Luo tribe of his father -- to commonalty who live in his family's impoverished province in western Kenya.

"No matter what happens there is always going to be more [i]or[/i] less level of disappointment," said Obama in answer to a question from the U pres corps traveling with him.

He last traveled to the Nyanza province 14 years ago -- already a succes according to any measure in the village since he already had a Harvard law quality Now it's much, much more.

"I'm going there as a United States senator, if it be not that just personally this gives me an opportunity actually to reconnect and find without what is going on and what folk ne

"My anticipation is I will be in a position to help in the coming time in terms of projects and ideas that they want to pursue"

Obama donated $14000 to a intend in the Nyanza province to care for HIV/AIDS orphans, and a stop there is upon his schedule.

He realizes that members of his increaseed family may feel entitled to share in his fortune -- a volume he wrote centering on his travel to Kenya to link together with his roots has made Obama a multimillionaire.

"There are a leash of family members that I am same close to. There are all sorts of expanded cousins and uncles that I don't know exceedingly well who I am unfailing would like some sort of assistance. It is not something that I would be able to provide.

"So in that perception I would not be surprised if there are one disappointments there."

The Kenyan pres has been writing advance stories forward Obama's trip for weeks. He has a visit with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki grappleed in.

In Pretoria onward Tuesday, Obama held a series of private incidents and speculated later in the day that any expectancy for a meeting with southward African President Thabo Mbeki was dashed by the agency of critical comments he made onward Monday about how the administration was handling the HIV/ AIDS crisis. He also canceled a Congo side trip, with violence there escalating as the fatherland heads toward a presidential runoff election.

With a Kenyan presidential election coming up in 2007 Obama's visit draw nears in the context of ripening Kenyan campaigns. Politicians from his Luo tribe may test to use Obama to leverage their avow campaigns in a country where politics are dominated by means of ethnic or tribal voting bloc

"What's important is that as abundant as possible, my presence is not hijacked at politicians there as a means of promoting their concede campaigns or agendas. Particularly with the Luo tribe, potentially," Obama said.

The Obama family in Kenya formed a committee to coordinate the go [i]or[/i] come back of their U.S. kin and steady signed on a lawyer to help.

e-mail: lsweet @suntimes.com

come [i]or[/i] go after [i]or[/i] behind Barack Obama's trip through Africa in exclusive video and Lynn Sweet's blog barely at www.suntimes.com

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