Tuesday, December 10, 2013 5:28:50 AM
Senator Ted Cruz Supporters Offer Eulogy for Nelson Mandela
By Seth Abramson
Posted: 12/06/2013 12:37 pm
(NB: What follows is a collage of sentences from the first one hundred negative responses to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz's official statement [ http://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=699 ] on the death of Nelson Mandela. The sentences, taken from the Senator's [post of his statement on his] Facebook page [ https://www.facebook.com/tedcruzpage/posts/10152099242462464 ], are unedited, though spelling mistakes were corrected.)
A Eulogy for Nelson Mandela, By the Supporters of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Say what, Ted? I'm confused. You're joining in the Marxist love-fest? You're mourning the death of a murdering Communist? Why? Why would you honor a socialist who promoted the killing of white people in South Africa? Was he not a Communist? Wasn't Mandela a committed Communist and terrorist with innocent blood on his hands?
Speaking out of ignorance, are we? Disappointing, Mr. Cruz. I'm very sorry to see you post this.
I thought Nelson Mandela was a Communist, and that he and Winnie were aligned with terrorists. You didn't say anything about the fact that Mandela was a Communist, and you forgot the part where he planted bombs and blew up a train station, then pled guilty and spent twenty-seven years in jail because of it. I can't believe you would show support of him! Do you now support and promote Communism? This man you are honoring was a Communist and a murderer.
I'm disappointed in your expression of admiration for this Marxist. You need to study your history. Amazing how people are so blind and swallow everything the media feeds them about how great a man he was. You need to go to South Africa and see the fruits of Mandela's work. Mandela was a Communist revolutionary and terrorist with blood on his hands.
Good grief, Ted! He was a frigging Communist. He and his wife and their henchmen hung tires full of gasoline around the necks of their opponents and lit them on fire. What's so heroic about that? Before you praise Mandela you need to find out the truth about him. He was not the man that the media wants you to think he was.
Mandela was a Marxist.
He was a Marxist. He was a Communist plain and simple.
Ted, I'm a supporter of your agenda, however you're on the wrong side of history on this one.
Wake up, Ted.
If you put this man on a pedestal like all the other uninformed people, you've lost my vote for anything.
C'mon, Ted, get real. Did he change from being a terrorist? He was a terrorist. He was about as anti-freedom as one could get. Get your facts right. Rather than bringing people together, Mandela set them apart. He was a murderous Communist serving time in prison for thousands of white murders. Do you support Communist terrorism? I am astounded to see such a tribute from you. This man murdered God only knows how many innocent people, and brought the plague of abortion to his country! I certainly do not mourn his loss.
Don't whitewash the true history of this murdering villain. Please research it! South Africa is now one of the most dangerous places on Earth -- much like how Obama left Chicago. Mandela was a socialist -- no wonder Obama will attend his funeral. (The blacks in America don't know that they are still in bondage under the Democrats, and forever if they continue to support them.) If I were you I would take this post down and brush up a little bit on your history! Don't accept the revision of history by the Leftist media!
Ted, you are making me doubt you. You screwed up here, Ted.
You need a history lesson:
Nelson Mandela was a Communist and his group was on the American terrorist list. He was a glorified terrorist. Marxist murdering scum. He was a socialist terrorizer of white Africans. He was a convicted terrorist in the Communist Party. He was a mass-murdering Communist. He was a Communist who murdered many people. He was a Communist. Communist! He was a Communist and a terrorist! Mandela was a Communist and a terrorist. He was a Communist terrorist murderer-bomber in service to the Soviet Union. He was a Commie terrorist, Mr. Cruz. He stood against apartheid, not because it was wrong, but because he is a racist and cared only for his own color. He was a Communist/terrorist. He was an avowed socialist -- an ex-terrorist supported by Castro and the U.S.S.R. This information is readily available, just ask any South African with common sense.
I do not mourn his loss. I say "good riddance"!
Ted, I disagree with you. Sorry, Senator, I disagree. (Ted's finally wrong on something!) Not much that I've disagreed with you recently, but this...
Are you ignorant, complacent, or a fool? Praising a Communist terrorist is not the best way to please your base.
Watch it, Senator.
Ted, I understand your need to post something positive about Nelson Mandela, but I am disappointed in your lack of knowledge and history as to the horrific crimes he committed against his own people. Mandela and his wife were evil incarnate, plain and simple. Mandela was a Marxist terrorist much like the Taliban. He was not a hero; he was a racist terrorist. Glad he's gone.
Why are we commemorating and mourning a hateful murderer? A war criminal? What about his days with the Communists, killing innocent people? He destroyed a prosperous nation. He impoverished those he "set free." He turned to advocating violence when he didn't get what he wanted. Nelson Mandela was a Communist and a mass murderer. He was a Communist racist terrorist. The man was a Communist, a terrorist, and a racist. He was a murderer and a Communist. He was a Communist! Yep, he was a good Communist. He was a Communist revolutionary and terrorist with blood on his hands.
Do not fall victim to the media's lies! How you can celebrate the life of an ardent supporter of Cuba's Castro is beyond me. Give me a break. Are you serious? You must have posted only because Mandela was black. He was as Communist as they come, and a buddy of Fidel Castro. Guess Communism is okay with you? Guess a little white genocide means nothing to you, Cruz?
He was a Marxist. He was a Marxist who advocated white genocide. He was a socialist democrat who was against capitalism and private ownership of property. He was a P.O.S. Communist who hated white people. He was a Commie race-baiter.
And he's not without blood on his hands. There was a much darker side to this butcher/Communist. He was a terrorist who murdered my friend. He was a Communist and terrorist jailed for bombing government targets, and he killed who knows how many. Mandela was on the United States Terrorist List until 2008, right along with Osama bin Laden and other well-known terrorists -- and you want to show so much reverence for him? Mandela was a Marxist, a tyrant, and a racist.
Well, Ted Cruz, you lost my vote. You just lost my vote, Ted. I had such high hopes for you, sir. I thought you were different, but you're a sell-out just like the rest of them.
God help the white South Africans. And I mourn all the blacks and their families he used tire necklaces on.
I'm done wasting my time thinking about this. Mandela was a terrorist. That's all. And as far as I'm concerned, any day with one less Communist is a good day.
Ted, I thought you were our guy. Seems like I may need to rethink that. My God, now who will I be voting for in 2016?
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. (emphasis in original)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seth-abramson/supporters-of-us-senator_b_4399368.html [with comments] [and see in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=94735834 and preceding and following]
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Al Sharpton Rips Historical US Policy Towards Nelson Mandela
By Catherine Taibi
Posted: 12/09/2013 9:49 am EST | Updated: 12/09/2013 3:27 pm EST
Reverend Al Sharpton spoke on Sunday about the dangers of rewriting history when it comes to the death of Nelson Mandela and America's relations with him.
"I think that for us now to sugarcoat that is a betrayal of history," Sharpton said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I think that it is a betrayal of history to act as though as Nelson Mandela evolved, the world embraced it. There was a real battle in this country."
Sharpton argued that it is important for the United States to acknowledge the truth about the country's tensions with Mandela and the ANC.
"Let's remember the ANC that he refers to were pursuing freedom. Many of the communist nations embraced them," he said. "This country did not."
"We chose sides," the MSNBC host continued, raising his voice. "We chose the wrong side. People in this country turned us around toward the right side. That set the stage for Mandela to evolve. But if you're drowning and someone throws you your raft to get out, you don't call them a rafter. You call yourself the one that's trying to stop from drowning. Those are the ones that threw the raft in South Africa for freedom fighters."
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/al-sharpton-mandela-nelson-nbc-meet-the-press_n_4412319.html [with embedded video of the full Sharpton segment om Meet the Press (original at http://www.nbcnews.com/video/meet-the-press/53772452 / http://www.nbcnews.com/video/meet-the-press/53772452#53772452 ), (separate) embedded video report, and comments]
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Newt Gingrich 'Very Surprised' At Nelson Mandela Backlash
CNN State of the Union
By Amanda Terkel
Posted: 12/08/2013 11:45 am EST | Updated: 12/08/2013 11:59 am EST
WASHINGTON -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Sunday he was "very surprised" at people who were critical of his decision to praise Nelson Mandela this week, standing by his admiration for Mandela's "very long, deep commitment to freedom."
On Thursday, upon hearing of the former South African president's death [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/nelson-mandela-dead-dies-south-africa_n_1699777.html ], Gingrich put up a post [ https://www.facebook.com/newtgingrich/posts/10152020725469197 ] on Facebook, expressing his condolences.
"President Nelson Mandela was one of the greatest leaders of our lifetime," he wrote. "When he visited the Congress I was deeply impressed with the charisma and the calmness with which he could dominate a room. It was as if the rest of us grew smaller and he grew stronger and more dominant the longer the meeting continued."
Gingrich's statement, however, was met with backlash from many of his followers.
"Newt, I was rooting for you to win the primaries and become the next president; please tell me your joking!! Mandela was a commie murderer [ https://www.facebook.com/newtgingrich/posts/10152020725469197?comment_id=28884080&offset=0&total_comments=348 ]!!" read one comment that was popular with other users.
"You're forgetting Mandela's extreme racism! There are YouTubes of Mandela singing songs about murdering the white man. I spit on his grave [ https://www.facebook.com/newtgingrich/posts/10152020725469197?comment_id=28884147&reply_comment_id=28891462&total_comments=1 ]....," read another.
When asked about the criticism in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, Gingrich replied, "I was very surprised by it. [My wife] Callista posted my statement on her Facebook page and was amazed at some of the intensity -- some of whom came back three, four and five times repeating how angry they were."
In response, on Saturday, Gingrich put out a new statement and video [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avprS9cmoTE (below, as embedded)] to his supporters [ http://www.gingrichproductions.com/2013/12/what-would-you-have-done-nelson-mandela-and-american-conservatives/ ], challenging critics to put themselves in Mandela's shoes.
"I was surprised by the hostility and vehemence of some of the people who reacted to me saying a kind word about a unique historic figure," he said. "So let me say to those conservatives who don’t want to honor Nelson Mandela, what would you have done?"
Responding to conservatives who dismiss Mandela as a communist, Gingrich added, "Actually Mandela was raised in a Methodist school, was a devout Christian, turned to communism in desperation only after South Africa was taken over by an extraordinarily racist government [ http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/political-insider/2013/dec/07/newt-gingrich-pushes-back-nelson-mandela-criticism/ ] determined to eliminate all rights for blacks."
As Ta-Nehisi Coates at the Atlantic pointed out [ http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/gingrich-vs-the-right-on-apartheid-what-would-you-have-done/282138/ ], Gingrich's support for Mandela is not new or an attempt to rewrite history.
"Newt Gingrich was among a cadre of conservatives who opposed the mainstream conservative stance on Apartheid and ultimately helped override Reagan's unconscionable veto of sanctions," he wrote, adding, "When Gingrich compliments Mandela on his presidency he doesn't do so within the context of alleged African pathologies, but within the context of countries throughout the world. It's a textbook lessons in 'How not to be racist,' which is to say it is a textbook lesson in how to talk about Nelson Mandela as though he were a human being."
Watch Gingrich's video [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avprS9cmoTE (next below, as embedded)]:
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also encountered a fair amount of vitriol [ http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/12/ted-cruz-criticized-for-praising-nelson-mandela/ ] last week when he honored Mandela in a Facebook post, writing, "Nelson Mandela will live in history as an inspiration for defenders of liberty around the globe… Because of his epic fight against injustice, an entire nation is now free.”
When CNN host Candy Crowley asked Gingrich if he believed his and Cruz's critics were fellow conservatives, the former House speaker said they were people who bought into "a rationale that defined everybody who was in any way in rebellion against the established system in the third world as anti-American."
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/08/newt-gingrich-nelson-mandela_n_4408351.html [with (separate) embedded video of brief excerpts of Gingrich's comments on State of the Union, and comments]
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Was Mandela Right to Sell Out Black South Africans?
By Noah Feldman
Dec 9, 2013 2:07 PM CT
Nelson Mandela sold out black South Africans. Now there's a sentence you won't have heard in the days since his death and that you won't be hearing at his memorial tomorrow. Yet it’s incontrovertibly true that after centuries of being robbed of possibly the greatest mineral wealth the world has ever known, not to mention decades of being repressed by apartheid, black South Africans got almost no compensation for what should rightfully have been theirs when the old regime was swept away for the new South Africa.
Indeed, the basic deal Mandela struck from prison with F.W. de Klerk, and which was subsequently enshrined in the South African constitution, essentially guaranteed the existing property rights of white South Africans in exchange for an end to apartheid.
For whites, the deal made sense. Apartheid could not be maintained forever against international pressure and internal resistance. The odds of holding onto the material benefits of the oppressive traditional system were much higher with black African enfranchisement than without it. A successful revolution would lead to the dispossession of whites, just as it had in almost every other corner of formerly colonial sub-Saharan Africa. What Mandela was promising was more than half a loaf. It was a whole loaf of wealth with a proportionately small loaf of political power.
For black South Africans, especially supporters of the African National Congress who had idolized Mandela during his 27-year imprisonment, the choice was much harder. What they were giving up was nothing less than their material patrimony. Over many generations, blacks in South Africa might build businesses and earn money, and a slice of leadership might emerge as a political-business elite entitled to a share of the country’s national wealth. But for most black South Africans, there would be no major opportunity to change the economic conditions of their lives in the foreseeable future. Wealth would remain with their former oppressors.
On the positive side, if black South Africans could accept the deal Mandela had struck, the country might avoid the flight of whites -- and with them white capital -- that had happened in other countries on the continent. In the aftermath of morally justified redistribution of wealth, many sub-Saharan countries had found themselves poorer, not richer. It was a gamble for the poorest South Africans to bet that forgoing their just rights might actually leave them slightly better off in the long run; but it was a gamble arguably worth taking.
A further potential upside of the deal was harder to articulate publicly. Many post-colonial African countries had evolved from colonialism to proud independence to patrimonial, despotic dictatorship in just a generation. Perhaps the continued presence of white South Africans in positions of economic importance would create an incentive for the ANC leadership to govern democratically. No credible democratic political opposition to the party that fought for and achieved freedom was going to exist for a long while. To keep the government honest, then, a different threat was needed: The threat of flight by white capital should the ANC subvert democratic practices and values might actually help the country going forward.
The black South African public may not have realized, in the first flush of pride in their freed leader and his global prestige, exactly what deal they were implicitly taking. But the constitutional process, admirably accomplished over several years in full public view, made the deal more or less transparent. For the most part, black South Africans voted to take the deal. They were, in essence, validating Mandela’s promises to de Klerk and white South Africa. The rhetoric of brotherhood and nonvengeance -- exemplified, for example, in Mandela's embrace of the Springboks national rugby team -- was the cultural counterpart to the promise of continued coexistence under white economic dominance.
Was Mandela right to sacrifice justice for the chance of a richer and more democratic South Africa? The question of his heroic status depends on the answer. Looking at the career of Yasser Arafat, who consistently made a different choice, inclines one to think that the answer is yes. A politician shouldn't act on what is absolutely fair, but what is pragmatically most likely to succeed in the real world.
Yet, as we mourn Mandela, it is also worth remembering that, like almost all constitutions, South Africa's founding pact was born in the sin of compromise [ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-08/mandela-the-politician.html ]. Compromise is sin because people don't get what they deserve. But that sin is necessary, because after it's committed, people are better off than they would be without it.
The international community rightly reveres Nelson Mandela as a man of peace. But he was not a saint -- and for that we should be grateful. He brought peace through his ability to convince millions of his countrymen that they should accept much less than they were in justice owed.
(Noah Feldman, a law professor at Harvard University and the author of “Cool War: The Future of Global Competition,” is a Bloomberg View columnist. Follow him on Twitter at @NoahRFeldman.)
To contact the writer of this article: Noah Feldman at noah_feldman@harvard.edu.
To contact the editor responsible for this article: Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.net.
©2013 Bloomberg L.P.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-09/was-mandela-right-to-sell-out-black-south-africans-.html [with comments]
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Xi Joins Netanyahu in Deciding to Skip Mandela Memorial
ANC members put up posters in preparation for Nelson Mandela's memorial service at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Dec. 9, 2013.
Photographer: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
By Nicole Gaouette
Dec 10, 2013 2:56 AM CT
Monarchs, world leaders and pop royalty are so eager to attend Nelson Mandela [ http://topics.bloomberg.com/nelson-mandela/ ]’s memorial service today that South Africa is holding it in a 95,000-seat stadium. A select few seem less keen on attending.
China has announced that it will send a vice president and not President Xi Jinping, while Russia is sending a lower-level official. Israel has said it will send the speaker of its parliament, not Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, citing the expense of airfare and security.
While Mandela’s legacy of resistance, reconciliation, and leadership has drawn worldwide praise since his death Dec. 5 at the age of 95, those qualities and his loyalty to those who supported him, regardless of their political history, make him a challenging figure for others.
“Obviously, various types of leaders would be reluctant, honoring a leader who both emerged from prison, who had tremendous national popularity, and was able to transcend traditional politics and create a new beginning for a state,” said Will Pomeranz, the Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies at the Wilson Center, a Washington policy group.
The service at FNB Stadium will draw political leaders and cultural figures ready to praise that legacy, including U.S. President Barack Obama, Irish rock star and activist Bono, and the Prince of Wales.
Challenging Authority
They may recall Mandela’s speech to the court on the day in 1964 he was convicted of sabotage and sent to prison, where he was held for 27 years. He told the court that a democratic and free society was “an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
The power of that speech is another reason Mandela remains such a charged figure for authoritarian leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pomeranz said. Russia said yesterday it would be sending Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council, to attend the service instead of Putin, according to Voice of Russia Radio.
China will send Vice President Li Yuanchao instead of Xi. Li’s attendance shows that China “attaches great importance to South Africa’s funeral arrangements,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a briefing in Beijing today.
“President Xi personally phoned South African President Zuma to express his deep condolences over Mandela’s passing,” Hong said in reference to South African leader Jacob Zuma.
Practical Reasons
There are practical reasons for the Chinese president to miss the event, said Chris Johnson, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington policy group.
This week, China will hold its Central Economic Conference to discuss reforms with which Xi is closely associated. “There’s no way he could get there and back in time,” said Johnson.
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, said Xi has delegated many such tasks to Li. Communist Party leaders also don’t want to send the wrong signal to their people, he said.
“They don’t want to give too much publicity to the funeral of someone who spent 27 years in jail fighting against injustice and apartheid,” Cabestan said. “You have a number of political prisoners in China who are also fighting for freedom.”
Popular Resistance
Mandela’s status as a symbol of popular resistance isn’t dissuading Iran from sending a representative. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s plans to attend were scuttled because he’s hosting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. In his place, Iran’s Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohammad Shariatmadari will attend, Iranian media reported.
For other countries, it’s less Mandela’s symbolism than his history that may be the problem. The South African leader refused to turn his back on former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, who supported his anti-apartheid cause when the U.S. still backed the apartheid government.
In 1997, Mandela visited Qaddafi in Libya over objections from the U.S., which had imposed sanctions on the North African nation. He told the press later that, “This man helped us at a time when we were all alone, when those who say we should not come here were helping the enemy.”
Mandela was critical of Israel’s support for the apartheid regime, noting that support during a 1999 visit to Israel. He also condemned Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, comparing it to apartheid.
Diplomatic Relations
Israel and South Africa have full trade and diplomatic relations. Even so, Netanyahu won’t attend Mandela’s service, said a government official who cited the expense of flying to South Africa and making security arrangements on short notice. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no one was authorized to comment by name.
Netanyahu has been under fire at home for the extent of his personal expenses on items such as scented candles and flower arrangements.
In the prime minister’s place, Yuli Edelstein, the parliamentary speaker, and other lawmakers, will fly down, Knesset spokesman Yotam Yakir said. President Shimon Peres is recovering from the flu and under doctor’s orders not to make the trip, according to Israel Radio.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicole Gaouette in Washington at ngaouette@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Walcott at jwalcott9@bloomberg.net
©2013 Bloomberg L.P.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-10/xi-joins-netanyahu-in-deciding-to-skip-mandela-memorial.html [with comments]
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Obama Gets Private Time With Bush on Way to Memorial
By Margaret Talev
Dec 9, 2013 7:28 PM CT
A long flight on Air Force One to Nelson Mandela’s memorial service is giving President Barack Obama some rare private time with two key figures in his political life -- the man whose legacy he ran against, and the woman poised for another try after he bested her five years ago.
Former President George W. Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are accompanying Obama on the presidential aircraft along with first lady Michelle Obama and former first lady Laura Bush for the 16-hour flight to Johannesburg.
Shortly after their takeoff yesterday from Andrews Air Force Base, they met in a conference room aboard the jet and shared memories of Mandela, joined by Attorney General Eric Holder, National Security Adviser Susan Rice and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, according to Deputy National Security adviser Ben Rhodes and White House press secretary Jay Carney.
“It’s a unique experience,” Rhodes told reporters traveling with the president.
Including ex-presidents and their spouses in such events is tradition. Bush invited his own father, former President George H.W. Bush, and former President Bill Clinton, to fly with him after Pope John Paul II died in 2005.
The backdrop for this Obama-Bush-Clinton summit is the legacy of Mandela, an anti-apartheid hero imprisoned for 27 years before his election as South Africa’s first black president in 1994.
International Symbol
At his death Dec. 5 at the age of 95, Mandela was an international symbol of the power of political reconciliation on a scale that dwarfs any resolution of past tension between Obama and Bush or Clinton.
Today’s service for Mandela at a sports stadium is to be packed with South African mourners and leaders from around the world.
Former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, also invited to join Obama on Air Force One, are flying separately. George H.W. Bush, 89, was not able to make the trip.
Among the international dignitaries attending the memorial are U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron along with former premiers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, French President Francois Hollande and his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff.
Limits by the South African government on the size of foreign delegations attending the memorial meant Obama could not assemble a broader delegation of civil rights and business leaders, celebrities and other public figures to accompany him to Johannesburg. Congressional lawmakers are traveling separately.
Obama Remarks
Obama, 52, is scheduled to speak at the Mandela memorial. Rhodes said that while the president has spoken of the South African leader many times, he has only been working on his remarks since learning of Mandela’s death and getting confirmation that he would address the crowd, Rhodes said.
For Bush, 67, and Obama, a shared interest in health and development programs on the African continent has served as bridge between two men with little in common politically.
Earlier this year, the men jointly participated in an embassy wreath-laying event in Tanzania, when the Bushes’ involvement in an international women’s event coincided with the timing of the Obamas’ three-country Africa tour.
The flight with Obama to South Africa is Bush’s first on Air Force Once since leaving office in 2009. Bush visited reporters in the press cabin on the flight, first alone and later with his wife, and declined requests for interviews.
Clinton Bracelet
Before leaving Senegal, where Air Force One was refueled, Clinton also spoke to reporters to give her recollections of Mandela. She was wearing a bracelet with the number 46664 etched on it -- Mandela’s prison identification number. She said Mandela had given it to her several years ago.
For Clinton, 66, who lost to Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary and then served as his first-term secretary of state, snagging a coveted ride to the high-profile Mandela service shines a spotlight on her prospective 2016 presidential bid. It also gives her some one-on-one time with the most recent Republican and Democrat to occupy the office.
To contact the reporter on this story: Margaret Talev in Dakar, Senegal at mtalev@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steven Komarow at skomarow1@bloomberg.net
©2013 Bloomberg L.P.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-10/obama-gets-private-time-with-bush-on-way-to-memorial.html [with comments]
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By Seth Abramson
Posted: 12/06/2013 12:37 pm
(NB: What follows is a collage of sentences from the first one hundred negative responses to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz's official statement [ http://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=699 ] on the death of Nelson Mandela. The sentences, taken from the Senator's [post of his statement on his] Facebook page [ https://www.facebook.com/tedcruzpage/posts/10152099242462464 ], are unedited, though spelling mistakes were corrected.)
A Eulogy for Nelson Mandela, By the Supporters of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Say what, Ted? I'm confused. You're joining in the Marxist love-fest? You're mourning the death of a murdering Communist? Why? Why would you honor a socialist who promoted the killing of white people in South Africa? Was he not a Communist? Wasn't Mandela a committed Communist and terrorist with innocent blood on his hands?
Speaking out of ignorance, are we? Disappointing, Mr. Cruz. I'm very sorry to see you post this.
I thought Nelson Mandela was a Communist, and that he and Winnie were aligned with terrorists. You didn't say anything about the fact that Mandela was a Communist, and you forgot the part where he planted bombs and blew up a train station, then pled guilty and spent twenty-seven years in jail because of it. I can't believe you would show support of him! Do you now support and promote Communism? This man you are honoring was a Communist and a murderer.
I'm disappointed in your expression of admiration for this Marxist. You need to study your history. Amazing how people are so blind and swallow everything the media feeds them about how great a man he was. You need to go to South Africa and see the fruits of Mandela's work. Mandela was a Communist revolutionary and terrorist with blood on his hands.
Good grief, Ted! He was a frigging Communist. He and his wife and their henchmen hung tires full of gasoline around the necks of their opponents and lit them on fire. What's so heroic about that? Before you praise Mandela you need to find out the truth about him. He was not the man that the media wants you to think he was.
Mandela was a Marxist.
He was a Marxist. He was a Communist plain and simple.
Ted, I'm a supporter of your agenda, however you're on the wrong side of history on this one.
Wake up, Ted.
If you put this man on a pedestal like all the other uninformed people, you've lost my vote for anything.
C'mon, Ted, get real. Did he change from being a terrorist? He was a terrorist. He was about as anti-freedom as one could get. Get your facts right. Rather than bringing people together, Mandela set them apart. He was a murderous Communist serving time in prison for thousands of white murders. Do you support Communist terrorism? I am astounded to see such a tribute from you. This man murdered God only knows how many innocent people, and brought the plague of abortion to his country! I certainly do not mourn his loss.
Don't whitewash the true history of this murdering villain. Please research it! South Africa is now one of the most dangerous places on Earth -- much like how Obama left Chicago. Mandela was a socialist -- no wonder Obama will attend his funeral. (The blacks in America don't know that they are still in bondage under the Democrats, and forever if they continue to support them.) If I were you I would take this post down and brush up a little bit on your history! Don't accept the revision of history by the Leftist media!
Ted, you are making me doubt you. You screwed up here, Ted.
You need a history lesson:
Nelson Mandela was a Communist and his group was on the American terrorist list. He was a glorified terrorist. Marxist murdering scum. He was a socialist terrorizer of white Africans. He was a convicted terrorist in the Communist Party. He was a mass-murdering Communist. He was a Communist who murdered many people. He was a Communist. Communist! He was a Communist and a terrorist! Mandela was a Communist and a terrorist. He was a Communist terrorist murderer-bomber in service to the Soviet Union. He was a Commie terrorist, Mr. Cruz. He stood against apartheid, not because it was wrong, but because he is a racist and cared only for his own color. He was a Communist/terrorist. He was an avowed socialist -- an ex-terrorist supported by Castro and the U.S.S.R. This information is readily available, just ask any South African with common sense.
I do not mourn his loss. I say "good riddance"!
Ted, I disagree with you. Sorry, Senator, I disagree. (Ted's finally wrong on something!) Not much that I've disagreed with you recently, but this...
Are you ignorant, complacent, or a fool? Praising a Communist terrorist is not the best way to please your base.
Watch it, Senator.
Ted, I understand your need to post something positive about Nelson Mandela, but I am disappointed in your lack of knowledge and history as to the horrific crimes he committed against his own people. Mandela and his wife were evil incarnate, plain and simple. Mandela was a Marxist terrorist much like the Taliban. He was not a hero; he was a racist terrorist. Glad he's gone.
Why are we commemorating and mourning a hateful murderer? A war criminal? What about his days with the Communists, killing innocent people? He destroyed a prosperous nation. He impoverished those he "set free." He turned to advocating violence when he didn't get what he wanted. Nelson Mandela was a Communist and a mass murderer. He was a Communist racist terrorist. The man was a Communist, a terrorist, and a racist. He was a murderer and a Communist. He was a Communist! Yep, he was a good Communist. He was a Communist revolutionary and terrorist with blood on his hands.
Do not fall victim to the media's lies! How you can celebrate the life of an ardent supporter of Cuba's Castro is beyond me. Give me a break. Are you serious? You must have posted only because Mandela was black. He was as Communist as they come, and a buddy of Fidel Castro. Guess Communism is okay with you? Guess a little white genocide means nothing to you, Cruz?
He was a Marxist. He was a Marxist who advocated white genocide. He was a socialist democrat who was against capitalism and private ownership of property. He was a P.O.S. Communist who hated white people. He was a Commie race-baiter.
And he's not without blood on his hands. There was a much darker side to this butcher/Communist. He was a terrorist who murdered my friend. He was a Communist and terrorist jailed for bombing government targets, and he killed who knows how many. Mandela was on the United States Terrorist List until 2008, right along with Osama bin Laden and other well-known terrorists -- and you want to show so much reverence for him? Mandela was a Marxist, a tyrant, and a racist.
Well, Ted Cruz, you lost my vote. You just lost my vote, Ted. I had such high hopes for you, sir. I thought you were different, but you're a sell-out just like the rest of them.
God help the white South Africans. And I mourn all the blacks and their families he used tire necklaces on.
I'm done wasting my time thinking about this. Mandela was a terrorist. That's all. And as far as I'm concerned, any day with one less Communist is a good day.
Ted, I thought you were our guy. Seems like I may need to rethink that. My God, now who will I be voting for in 2016?
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. (emphasis in original)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seth-abramson/supporters-of-us-senator_b_4399368.html [with comments] [and see in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=94735834 and preceding and following]
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Al Sharpton Rips Historical US Policy Towards Nelson Mandela
By Catherine Taibi
Posted: 12/09/2013 9:49 am EST | Updated: 12/09/2013 3:27 pm EST
Reverend Al Sharpton spoke on Sunday about the dangers of rewriting history when it comes to the death of Nelson Mandela and America's relations with him.
"I think that for us now to sugarcoat that is a betrayal of history," Sharpton said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I think that it is a betrayal of history to act as though as Nelson Mandela evolved, the world embraced it. There was a real battle in this country."
Sharpton argued that it is important for the United States to acknowledge the truth about the country's tensions with Mandela and the ANC.
"Let's remember the ANC that he refers to were pursuing freedom. Many of the communist nations embraced them," he said. "This country did not."
"We chose sides," the MSNBC host continued, raising his voice. "We chose the wrong side. People in this country turned us around toward the right side. That set the stage for Mandela to evolve. But if you're drowning and someone throws you your raft to get out, you don't call them a rafter. You call yourself the one that's trying to stop from drowning. Those are the ones that threw the raft in South Africa for freedom fighters."
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/al-sharpton-mandela-nelson-nbc-meet-the-press_n_4412319.html [with embedded video of the full Sharpton segment om Meet the Press (original at http://www.nbcnews.com/video/meet-the-press/53772452 / http://www.nbcnews.com/video/meet-the-press/53772452#53772452 ), (separate) embedded video report, and comments]
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Newt Gingrich 'Very Surprised' At Nelson Mandela Backlash
CNN State of the Union
By Amanda Terkel
Posted: 12/08/2013 11:45 am EST | Updated: 12/08/2013 11:59 am EST
WASHINGTON -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Sunday he was "very surprised" at people who were critical of his decision to praise Nelson Mandela this week, standing by his admiration for Mandela's "very long, deep commitment to freedom."
On Thursday, upon hearing of the former South African president's death [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/nelson-mandela-dead-dies-south-africa_n_1699777.html ], Gingrich put up a post [ https://www.facebook.com/newtgingrich/posts/10152020725469197 ] on Facebook, expressing his condolences.
"President Nelson Mandela was one of the greatest leaders of our lifetime," he wrote. "When he visited the Congress I was deeply impressed with the charisma and the calmness with which he could dominate a room. It was as if the rest of us grew smaller and he grew stronger and more dominant the longer the meeting continued."
Gingrich's statement, however, was met with backlash from many of his followers.
"Newt, I was rooting for you to win the primaries and become the next president; please tell me your joking!! Mandela was a commie murderer [ https://www.facebook.com/newtgingrich/posts/10152020725469197?comment_id=28884080&offset=0&total_comments=348 ]!!" read one comment that was popular with other users.
"You're forgetting Mandela's extreme racism! There are YouTubes of Mandela singing songs about murdering the white man. I spit on his grave [ https://www.facebook.com/newtgingrich/posts/10152020725469197?comment_id=28884147&reply_comment_id=28891462&total_comments=1 ]....," read another.
When asked about the criticism in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, Gingrich replied, "I was very surprised by it. [My wife] Callista posted my statement on her Facebook page and was amazed at some of the intensity -- some of whom came back three, four and five times repeating how angry they were."
In response, on Saturday, Gingrich put out a new statement and video [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avprS9cmoTE (below, as embedded)] to his supporters [ http://www.gingrichproductions.com/2013/12/what-would-you-have-done-nelson-mandela-and-american-conservatives/ ], challenging critics to put themselves in Mandela's shoes.
"I was surprised by the hostility and vehemence of some of the people who reacted to me saying a kind word about a unique historic figure," he said. "So let me say to those conservatives who don’t want to honor Nelson Mandela, what would you have done?"
Responding to conservatives who dismiss Mandela as a communist, Gingrich added, "Actually Mandela was raised in a Methodist school, was a devout Christian, turned to communism in desperation only after South Africa was taken over by an extraordinarily racist government [ http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/political-insider/2013/dec/07/newt-gingrich-pushes-back-nelson-mandela-criticism/ ] determined to eliminate all rights for blacks."
As Ta-Nehisi Coates at the Atlantic pointed out [ http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/gingrich-vs-the-right-on-apartheid-what-would-you-have-done/282138/ ], Gingrich's support for Mandela is not new or an attempt to rewrite history.
"Newt Gingrich was among a cadre of conservatives who opposed the mainstream conservative stance on Apartheid and ultimately helped override Reagan's unconscionable veto of sanctions," he wrote, adding, "When Gingrich compliments Mandela on his presidency he doesn't do so within the context of alleged African pathologies, but within the context of countries throughout the world. It's a textbook lessons in 'How not to be racist,' which is to say it is a textbook lesson in how to talk about Nelson Mandela as though he were a human being."
Watch Gingrich's video [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avprS9cmoTE (next below, as embedded)]:
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also encountered a fair amount of vitriol [ http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/12/ted-cruz-criticized-for-praising-nelson-mandela/ ] last week when he honored Mandela in a Facebook post, writing, "Nelson Mandela will live in history as an inspiration for defenders of liberty around the globe… Because of his epic fight against injustice, an entire nation is now free.”
When CNN host Candy Crowley asked Gingrich if he believed his and Cruz's critics were fellow conservatives, the former House speaker said they were people who bought into "a rationale that defined everybody who was in any way in rebellion against the established system in the third world as anti-American."
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/08/newt-gingrich-nelson-mandela_n_4408351.html [with (separate) embedded video of brief excerpts of Gingrich's comments on State of the Union, and comments]
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Was Mandela Right to Sell Out Black South Africans?
By Noah Feldman
Dec 9, 2013 2:07 PM CT
Nelson Mandela sold out black South Africans. Now there's a sentence you won't have heard in the days since his death and that you won't be hearing at his memorial tomorrow. Yet it’s incontrovertibly true that after centuries of being robbed of possibly the greatest mineral wealth the world has ever known, not to mention decades of being repressed by apartheid, black South Africans got almost no compensation for what should rightfully have been theirs when the old regime was swept away for the new South Africa.
Indeed, the basic deal Mandela struck from prison with F.W. de Klerk, and which was subsequently enshrined in the South African constitution, essentially guaranteed the existing property rights of white South Africans in exchange for an end to apartheid.
For whites, the deal made sense. Apartheid could not be maintained forever against international pressure and internal resistance. The odds of holding onto the material benefits of the oppressive traditional system were much higher with black African enfranchisement than without it. A successful revolution would lead to the dispossession of whites, just as it had in almost every other corner of formerly colonial sub-Saharan Africa. What Mandela was promising was more than half a loaf. It was a whole loaf of wealth with a proportionately small loaf of political power.
For black South Africans, especially supporters of the African National Congress who had idolized Mandela during his 27-year imprisonment, the choice was much harder. What they were giving up was nothing less than their material patrimony. Over many generations, blacks in South Africa might build businesses and earn money, and a slice of leadership might emerge as a political-business elite entitled to a share of the country’s national wealth. But for most black South Africans, there would be no major opportunity to change the economic conditions of their lives in the foreseeable future. Wealth would remain with their former oppressors.
On the positive side, if black South Africans could accept the deal Mandela had struck, the country might avoid the flight of whites -- and with them white capital -- that had happened in other countries on the continent. In the aftermath of morally justified redistribution of wealth, many sub-Saharan countries had found themselves poorer, not richer. It was a gamble for the poorest South Africans to bet that forgoing their just rights might actually leave them slightly better off in the long run; but it was a gamble arguably worth taking.
A further potential upside of the deal was harder to articulate publicly. Many post-colonial African countries had evolved from colonialism to proud independence to patrimonial, despotic dictatorship in just a generation. Perhaps the continued presence of white South Africans in positions of economic importance would create an incentive for the ANC leadership to govern democratically. No credible democratic political opposition to the party that fought for and achieved freedom was going to exist for a long while. To keep the government honest, then, a different threat was needed: The threat of flight by white capital should the ANC subvert democratic practices and values might actually help the country going forward.
The black South African public may not have realized, in the first flush of pride in their freed leader and his global prestige, exactly what deal they were implicitly taking. But the constitutional process, admirably accomplished over several years in full public view, made the deal more or less transparent. For the most part, black South Africans voted to take the deal. They were, in essence, validating Mandela’s promises to de Klerk and white South Africa. The rhetoric of brotherhood and nonvengeance -- exemplified, for example, in Mandela's embrace of the Springboks national rugby team -- was the cultural counterpart to the promise of continued coexistence under white economic dominance.
Was Mandela right to sacrifice justice for the chance of a richer and more democratic South Africa? The question of his heroic status depends on the answer. Looking at the career of Yasser Arafat, who consistently made a different choice, inclines one to think that the answer is yes. A politician shouldn't act on what is absolutely fair, but what is pragmatically most likely to succeed in the real world.
Yet, as we mourn Mandela, it is also worth remembering that, like almost all constitutions, South Africa's founding pact was born in the sin of compromise [ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-08/mandela-the-politician.html ]. Compromise is sin because people don't get what they deserve. But that sin is necessary, because after it's committed, people are better off than they would be without it.
The international community rightly reveres Nelson Mandela as a man of peace. But he was not a saint -- and for that we should be grateful. He brought peace through his ability to convince millions of his countrymen that they should accept much less than they were in justice owed.
(Noah Feldman, a law professor at Harvard University and the author of “Cool War: The Future of Global Competition,” is a Bloomberg View columnist. Follow him on Twitter at @NoahRFeldman.)
To contact the writer of this article: Noah Feldman at noah_feldman@harvard.edu.
To contact the editor responsible for this article: Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.net.
©2013 Bloomberg L.P.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-09/was-mandela-right-to-sell-out-black-south-africans-.html [with comments]
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Xi Joins Netanyahu in Deciding to Skip Mandela Memorial
ANC members put up posters in preparation for Nelson Mandela's memorial service at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Dec. 9, 2013.
Photographer: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
By Nicole Gaouette
Dec 10, 2013 2:56 AM CT
Monarchs, world leaders and pop royalty are so eager to attend Nelson Mandela [ http://topics.bloomberg.com/nelson-mandela/ ]’s memorial service today that South Africa is holding it in a 95,000-seat stadium. A select few seem less keen on attending.
China has announced that it will send a vice president and not President Xi Jinping, while Russia is sending a lower-level official. Israel has said it will send the speaker of its parliament, not Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, citing the expense of airfare and security.
While Mandela’s legacy of resistance, reconciliation, and leadership has drawn worldwide praise since his death Dec. 5 at the age of 95, those qualities and his loyalty to those who supported him, regardless of their political history, make him a challenging figure for others.
“Obviously, various types of leaders would be reluctant, honoring a leader who both emerged from prison, who had tremendous national popularity, and was able to transcend traditional politics and create a new beginning for a state,” said Will Pomeranz, the Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies at the Wilson Center, a Washington policy group.
The service at FNB Stadium will draw political leaders and cultural figures ready to praise that legacy, including U.S. President Barack Obama, Irish rock star and activist Bono, and the Prince of Wales.
Challenging Authority
They may recall Mandela’s speech to the court on the day in 1964 he was convicted of sabotage and sent to prison, where he was held for 27 years. He told the court that a democratic and free society was “an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
The power of that speech is another reason Mandela remains such a charged figure for authoritarian leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pomeranz said. Russia said yesterday it would be sending Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council, to attend the service instead of Putin, according to Voice of Russia Radio.
China will send Vice President Li Yuanchao instead of Xi. Li’s attendance shows that China “attaches great importance to South Africa’s funeral arrangements,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a briefing in Beijing today.
“President Xi personally phoned South African President Zuma to express his deep condolences over Mandela’s passing,” Hong said in reference to South African leader Jacob Zuma.
Practical Reasons
There are practical reasons for the Chinese president to miss the event, said Chris Johnson, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington policy group.
This week, China will hold its Central Economic Conference to discuss reforms with which Xi is closely associated. “There’s no way he could get there and back in time,” said Johnson.
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, said Xi has delegated many such tasks to Li. Communist Party leaders also don’t want to send the wrong signal to their people, he said.
“They don’t want to give too much publicity to the funeral of someone who spent 27 years in jail fighting against injustice and apartheid,” Cabestan said. “You have a number of political prisoners in China who are also fighting for freedom.”
Popular Resistance
Mandela’s status as a symbol of popular resistance isn’t dissuading Iran from sending a representative. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s plans to attend were scuttled because he’s hosting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. In his place, Iran’s Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohammad Shariatmadari will attend, Iranian media reported.
For other countries, it’s less Mandela’s symbolism than his history that may be the problem. The South African leader refused to turn his back on former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, who supported his anti-apartheid cause when the U.S. still backed the apartheid government.
In 1997, Mandela visited Qaddafi in Libya over objections from the U.S., which had imposed sanctions on the North African nation. He told the press later that, “This man helped us at a time when we were all alone, when those who say we should not come here were helping the enemy.”
Mandela was critical of Israel’s support for the apartheid regime, noting that support during a 1999 visit to Israel. He also condemned Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, comparing it to apartheid.
Diplomatic Relations
Israel and South Africa have full trade and diplomatic relations. Even so, Netanyahu won’t attend Mandela’s service, said a government official who cited the expense of flying to South Africa and making security arrangements on short notice. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no one was authorized to comment by name.
Netanyahu has been under fire at home for the extent of his personal expenses on items such as scented candles and flower arrangements.
In the prime minister’s place, Yuli Edelstein, the parliamentary speaker, and other lawmakers, will fly down, Knesset spokesman Yotam Yakir said. President Shimon Peres is recovering from the flu and under doctor’s orders not to make the trip, according to Israel Radio.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicole Gaouette in Washington at ngaouette@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Walcott at jwalcott9@bloomberg.net
©2013 Bloomberg L.P.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-10/xi-joins-netanyahu-in-deciding-to-skip-mandela-memorial.html [with comments]
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Obama Gets Private Time With Bush on Way to Memorial
By Margaret Talev
Dec 9, 2013 7:28 PM CT
A long flight on Air Force One to Nelson Mandela’s memorial service is giving President Barack Obama some rare private time with two key figures in his political life -- the man whose legacy he ran against, and the woman poised for another try after he bested her five years ago.
Former President George W. Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are accompanying Obama on the presidential aircraft along with first lady Michelle Obama and former first lady Laura Bush for the 16-hour flight to Johannesburg.
Shortly after their takeoff yesterday from Andrews Air Force Base, they met in a conference room aboard the jet and shared memories of Mandela, joined by Attorney General Eric Holder, National Security Adviser Susan Rice and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, according to Deputy National Security adviser Ben Rhodes and White House press secretary Jay Carney.
“It’s a unique experience,” Rhodes told reporters traveling with the president.
Including ex-presidents and their spouses in such events is tradition. Bush invited his own father, former President George H.W. Bush, and former President Bill Clinton, to fly with him after Pope John Paul II died in 2005.
The backdrop for this Obama-Bush-Clinton summit is the legacy of Mandela, an anti-apartheid hero imprisoned for 27 years before his election as South Africa’s first black president in 1994.
International Symbol
At his death Dec. 5 at the age of 95, Mandela was an international symbol of the power of political reconciliation on a scale that dwarfs any resolution of past tension between Obama and Bush or Clinton.
Today’s service for Mandela at a sports stadium is to be packed with South African mourners and leaders from around the world.
Former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, also invited to join Obama on Air Force One, are flying separately. George H.W. Bush, 89, was not able to make the trip.
Among the international dignitaries attending the memorial are U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron along with former premiers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, French President Francois Hollande and his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff.
Limits by the South African government on the size of foreign delegations attending the memorial meant Obama could not assemble a broader delegation of civil rights and business leaders, celebrities and other public figures to accompany him to Johannesburg. Congressional lawmakers are traveling separately.
Obama Remarks
Obama, 52, is scheduled to speak at the Mandela memorial. Rhodes said that while the president has spoken of the South African leader many times, he has only been working on his remarks since learning of Mandela’s death and getting confirmation that he would address the crowd, Rhodes said.
For Bush, 67, and Obama, a shared interest in health and development programs on the African continent has served as bridge between two men with little in common politically.
Earlier this year, the men jointly participated in an embassy wreath-laying event in Tanzania, when the Bushes’ involvement in an international women’s event coincided with the timing of the Obamas’ three-country Africa tour.
The flight with Obama to South Africa is Bush’s first on Air Force Once since leaving office in 2009. Bush visited reporters in the press cabin on the flight, first alone and later with his wife, and declined requests for interviews.
Clinton Bracelet
Before leaving Senegal, where Air Force One was refueled, Clinton also spoke to reporters to give her recollections of Mandela. She was wearing a bracelet with the number 46664 etched on it -- Mandela’s prison identification number. She said Mandela had given it to her several years ago.
For Clinton, 66, who lost to Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary and then served as his first-term secretary of state, snagging a coveted ride to the high-profile Mandela service shines a spotlight on her prospective 2016 presidential bid. It also gives her some one-on-one time with the most recent Republican and Democrat to occupy the office.
To contact the reporter on this story: Margaret Talev in Dakar, Senegal at mtalev@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steven Komarow at skomarow1@bloomberg.net
©2013 Bloomberg L.P.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-10/obama-gets-private-time-with-bush-on-way-to-memorial.html [with comments]
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