President Obama (Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)
President Obama praised Nelson Mandela on
Thursday, saying the former South African
leader symbolized the fight for freedom and
dignity throughout the world.
"He achieved more than can be expected of
any one man," Obama said.
Mandela now "belongs to the ages," Obama
said at the White House within an hour of the
announcement of Mandela's death.
The president noted that his very first
political speech concerned apartheid in South
Africa, and he has studied Mandela's writings
throughout his career in government.
"I cannot imagine my own life without
Mandela's example," said the nation's first
African-American president.
Obama met Mandela only once, in 2005 when
Obama was a senator from Illinois. The
president traveled to South Africa in June,
but Mandela was too ill for a meeting; he
met instead with members of the Mandela
family.
In a statement on Mandela's 95th birthday in
July, the president and first lady Michelle
Obama send best wishes to the former South
African president, and said his life has
inspired millions.
"May Nelson Mandela's life of service to
others and his unwavering commitment to
equality, reconciliation, and human dignity
continue to be a beacon for each future
generation seeking a more just and
prosperous world," the Obamas said.
Obama's predecessors also paid tribute.
"President Mandela was one of the great
forces for freedom and equality of our time,"
said former President George W. Bush. "He
bore his burdens with dignity and grace, and
our world is better off because of his
example."
Ex-President George H.W. Bush said he and
wife Barbara "mourn the passing of one of
the greatest believers in freedom we have had
the privilege to know."
The elder Bush said he "watched in wonder"
as Mandela "had the remarkable capacity to
forgive his jailers following 26 years of
wrongful imprisonment -- setting a powerful
example of redemption and grace for us all."
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