Barack Obama reunites with father's family in Kenya

<p>Nairobi: Fulfilling the hopes of millions of Kenyans, Barack Obama returned to his father's homeland on Friday for the first time as US president, a long sought visit by a country that considers him a local son.</p><p>The president spent the evening reuniting with his Kenyan family, including his elderly step-grandmother who made the trip to the capital of Nairobi from her rural village.</p><p>U.S. and Kenyan flags lined the main road from Nairobi's airport, and billboards heralding Obama's trip dotted the city.</p><p>"I don't think that Kenyans think of Obama as African-American. They think of him as Kenyan-American," said EJ Hogendoorn, deputy program director for Africa at the</p><p>International Crisis Group.</p><p>Obama's link to Kenya is a father he barely knew, but whose influence can nonetheless be seen in his son's presidency.</p><p>Obama has spoken candidly about growing up without his Kenyan-born father and feeling "the weight of that absence." </p>