Obama's visit sparks frenzy, pride

(CNN) - President Barack Obama's planned visit to Ghana Friday sent the continent into a frenzy, prompting street vendors to stock miniature American flags as citizens donned attire with pictures of the U.S. leader.

As excitement built in the west African nation, others in the continent were forced to revisit shortcomings in their governments after Obama praised Ghana's democracy.

"People in Ghana are printing clothes for this occasion," said Adrian Landry, general manager of a beach hotel in the capital, Accra.

"The fact that his father is African and he picked us makes us special," he said. "He is endorsing our strong democracy in Ghana. This is historic."

The president's visit to the nation is the third by a sitting American president. Bill Clinton was the first U.S. president to visit Ghana in 1998 as part of a six-nation Africa tour. Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, stopped there as part of a four-nation Africa tour during his last year of office.

"Bush received a positive response, but it does not compare to this," Landry said.

Various prominent African-Americans, including Maya Angelou and Muhammad Ali, have made stops in the country.

As Ghana basked in the glow, media across Africa asked different variations of the same question: Why not us?

Obama summed up the answer in two words: democracy commitment.

"By traveling to Ghana, we hope to highlight the effective governance that they have in place," Obama said in an interview with AllAfrica.com, which highlights news from the continent.

During his one-day visit, Obama will meet his Ghanaian counterpart, John Atta Mills, who took office in January.