First Lady Heads To South Africa

The Wall Street Journal reports:

U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama is expected to arrive in South Africa on Monday to meet with women's groups, speak about the importance of education and youth leadership, as well as take in the sights.

Yet many say there's another unstated aspect of the trip: soothing prickly ties between the U.S. and South Africa. South Africa's shifting stances on crises in the Ivory Coast and Libya has showed the continent's foremost economic and political power to be an important but unpredictable partner—an ally that can turn fierce public critic. Mrs. Obama's might help reduce tensions in a way that a visit from a senior U.S. official couldn't, say analysts.