Crowds follow Obama through African `homecoming'.

Byline: Jeff Zeleny

KOGELO, Kenya _ By the time the goat was offered up, Sen. Barack Obama had been tugged and touched, prodded and paraded before thousands of astonished admirers here Saturday in the fertile hills of East Africa.

When he moved, crowds surged. If he reached for a handshake, hordes became so frenzied he was whisked away. A motorcade was nearly run off the road as locals barreled by, hoping to catch their own peek at the man known here only as Obama.

It was a surreal homecoming, he said, considering that the last time he came to this part of Kenya he walked a half-mile to the bus depot after taking the overnight train. This time, East African Flight 301 announced his presence to passengers on board and deposited him a few steps from a waiting caravan.

"Obviously there's been a big shift in terms of my travel accommodations," the Illinois Democrat said. "The last time I arrived in my grandmother's village, there was a goat in my lap and some chickens."

This time, the goat was delivered.

"We would like to offer you this to signify our appreciation," said Joshua Monge, keeping a tight grip on the fraying rope looped around the neck of a 3-year-old critter. "It is very fat and very sweet."

Politely, Obama declined, saying in all seriousness that it was against…