Clinton leans on Obama's celebrity in Africa

SAL, Cape Verde (Reuters) - He wasn't there but Hillary Clinton leaned heavily on President Barack Obama's heritage on her seven-nation Africa trip that ends on Friday in Cape Verde.

"The president considers himself a son of Africa," she said in Liberia's legislature on Thursday, a phrase she repeated at nearly every stop in an 11-day trip aimed at improving relations with key players on the continent.

In Kenya, where Obama's father was born, Clinton used his local standing to drive home the anti-corruption, good governance message that the Obama administration has made a pillar of its approach to Africa.

"It is tough, but it is also lovingly presented. President Obama very much wants Kenya to be the leaders of a reform movement," said Clinton in a town hall meeting with students from the University of Nairobi.

A rival of Obama until she lost the Democratic Party's nomination for president last year, Clinton used her own personal example of joining his cabinet to encourage reconciliation in Liberia and in Democratic Republic of Congo.

"I spent two years and a lot of money running against President Obama, and he won. And then I went to work to elect him. And then, much to my amazement, he asked me to be his secretary of state," she told Liberians politicians who gave her a standing ovation.

The top U.S. diplomat's own celebrity status was apparent too, with hundreds of well-wishers turning out to see the former first lady at every stop. In Liberia, groups of women trailed her every move, carrying a banner that said: "Hillary Clinton. Our Iron Lady."

Even some politicians seemed impressed.

Angola's foreign minister called their encounter "sublime," while in Nigeria the foreign minister said they had a "very beautiful time."

ECLIPSED BY HUSBAND?

There were the usual photo opportunities, such as joining in with traditional dancers in a housing project in a dusty township outside Cape Town where she planted marigolds.

But the cameras worked against Clinton in Democratic Republic of Congo, where she was captured in an angry outburst with a student who asked about her husband's views on a foreign policy issue.

Clinton responded curtly: "My husband is not the secretary of state. I am," -- a phrase that was rebroadcast on YouTube and became the talk of blogs.

The Congo stop had been aimed at highlighting the plight on women in eastern Congo who suffer rape and other sexual atrocities in a long-running war but instead, most newscasts in the United States focused on the student clash, cashing in on a fascination with the Clintons as a political couple.

The beginning of Clinton's trip -- her longest as secretary of state -- was also eclipsed by her husband's secret mission to North Korea where he secured the release of two journalists held in Pyongyang.

Clinton refused to be drawn on why she had snapped at the student, trying to deflect attention from it. "This has been an absolutely wonderful trip."

The trip also showed that Clinton wants women's issues to be at the core of her foreign policy and that the focus should be on giving women the tools to boost agriculture or help turn around countries coming out of conflict.

At an agricultural research center in Nairobi, one female scientist told Clinton: "We are the women you keep talking about," to which the top U.S. diplomat laughed heartily.

"If you educate a man, you educate a man. If you educate a woman, you educate a family," she told a Nigerian interviewer Mo Abudu.

In Mugungu camp for displaced people in eastern Congo -- the first U.S. secretary of state to go there -- Clinton was moved by the plight of a mother holding her severely malnourished son, who at 4-years-old was the weight of a 6-month-old.

Along with her chief of staff Cheryl Mills, Clinton met two rape victims in eastern Congo, telling reporters afterwards: "It is almost impossible to describe the level of suffering and despair."

Aside from the usual official meetings, Clinton packed in talks with students, grassroots and civic leaders in each country, often causing her schedule to run hours late.

In Nigeria, she nodded intently while each of the 17 religious leaders at a meeting delivered lengthy commentaries. "I am constipated with ideas," commented one of them at one point, causing others in the room to smile.

There were also comical moments such as in Kenya where Clinton heard that a Kenyan councilman had offered 40 goats and 20 cows for her daughter's hand. He was still waiting for a response

"I will convey this very kind offer," Clinton replied.

(Reporting by Sue Pleming; editing by Alison Williams)