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I’m not a fan of Nelson Mandela. Whether or not you are, I suspect you might appreciate some parallels that can be drawn between the lives of the anti-apartheid activist and leader of the African National Congress and that of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Mandela took office in 1994 at the age of 77 and became the oldest elected president of South Africa. Quite an accomplishment for someone who had spent 27 years in prison as a direct result of having fought for a cause in which he believed.
McCain, on the other hand, will become the oldest American to be sworn in as president if elected in November. Like Mandela, he spent time in prison. In his case, however, it was five and one-half years in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp. Like Mandela, his imprisonment came as a direct consequence of being involvement in fighting for a cause in which he believed.
Unless Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama is living on a set of double standards, he should be willing to denounce Mandela for having sought and won the South African presidency. After all, Mandela was six years older at the time he was elected than McCain is now.
Does this blogger expect to see news reports of Obama distancing himself from Mandela, the icon of all things African? Not this year. Not ever.
To silence the age question once and for all, McCain needs to seize every opportunity to force Obama to “fish or cut bait.” In other words, Obama must be forced to admit that Mandela was too old to be elected or admit McCain is not.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Always On Watch // May 18, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Bob,
Good catch!
2 hotoffthepress2 // May 18, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Like takin’ candy from a baby!
3 » Was Nelson Mandela Too Old Be President? NoisyRoom.net: Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace. Amelia Earhart // May 19, 2008 at 12:56 pm
[...] From Bob McCarty Writes: [...]
4 John Moyo // Oct 7, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I am sorry,
But you cannot compare John McCain with Nelson Mandela. Two completely different circumstances in different geographical parts of the world.
Mandela, like him or not, is a Nobel Peace prize winner something MCCain will probably never achieve. Secondly you would have to have been in South Africa at the end of Apartheid. IF Mandela had not led the reconcilliation effort there there almost certainly would have been a blood bath there. The De Klerk government actually took the initiative to engage Mandela because he was the only one who could unite the majority in South Africa. In this regard he became the bridge between the old and new.
Mandela was and is also too dignified to be involved in the mud slinging that has been seen with both sides in the American elections.
Before you make such comparisons do your home work. I experienced the effects of apartheid and I have lived in America long enough to know that the comparison you make is laughable!
5 hotoffthepress2 // Oct 7, 2008 at 5:40 pm
John — You write, “But you cannot compare John McCain with Nelson Mandela.” In response, I say, “You’re too late! I already did!”
As for Mandela being “the bridge” and being “too dignified,” I say you are mistaken.
Take a look at this item and you’ll learn he’s a communist whose beloved country is rapidly declining into third-world status.
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