![The Obama home in Kogelo, Kenya.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2008/02/23/opinion/24kristof600.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)
The stepgrandson of an illiterate, barefoot woman in this village of mud huts in Africa may be the next president of the United States. Such mobility powered by education, immigration and hard work is cause not for disparagement but for celebration