Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Nelson Mandela funeral: George, Laura Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton to attend

http://www.politico.com/politico44/...sh-will-attend-mandela-179061.html?hp=f2

Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to South Africa for Nelson Mandela's memorials next week,while former President George H.W. Bush will be staying home.

The younger Bush and former first lady Laura Bush "gratefully accepted" the invitation of President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama to travel aboard Air Force One, spokesman Freddy Ford said. The trip will be for "memorial services next week," but Ford didn't specify whether that means the Obamas and Bushes will attend a large memorial planned for Dec. 10 in Johannesburg or go to the state funeral set for Dec. 15 in Mandela's hometown, and referred questions to the White House.

Sources confirmed that the Clintons also plan to make the trip, but didn't say whether they will also be traveling on Air Force One.

Ailing former President George H.W. Bush won't be making the trip, spokesman Jim McGrath said.

Maybe Mrs Thatcher was not dark enough.

Just another PC dog and pony show

God bless Texas.....

Obama HAS to go, he wouldn't want to be upstaged by a dead Mandela...........



Without any doubt whatsoever, he'll try to turn it into something about himself.

Pathetic.

This will be about O, that's for sure. Narcissist.

Anyone going to pull out a few necklaces for old times sake? Time and aging does seem to bring out the common sense in people. And I can't really defend apartheid. The question is whether the replacement is workable.

I even agreed with Al Shparpton comments a few weeks ago, but he got over it.

Man, talk about messing up Dec. for the Bushes...

When the choice is apartheid or the terrorist deaths of you and your loved ones and the theft of your family's personal property and wealth, . . . well I know in which direction I would go. Apartheid or total anarchy and lawlessness? That is the real question.

I don't like apartheid at all, but it does seem apparent that without it the whites/and white-ish in that part of Africa are in dire straits.

All wonderful moderates and commies will be there for PC. The ones who say they aren't going and why need to be honored. The rest of the [bleep] can stay there with Nelson.

Hell .... why not .... if the governmnet was paying for it, I would go too.

When Obama arrives in RSA, I hope he follows Afrikaans tradition, and carries the Bush's luggage!

LMAO

None of them went for Margaret Thatcher's funeral.......but then again, she was only a stalwart ally that helped secure the downfall of the Soviet Union......

[insert sarcasm]Yes, because the terrorist deaths of loved ones and theft of the family's personal property and wealth weren't how the Afrikaans came into power and established apartheid in the first place.[end sarcasm]

I'm hardly a liberal commie (which I'm sure I'll be labeled after this), but I find it very interesting that so many members that call for us not to forget or repeat history in various ways so willfully choose to only remember the parts of history which they like. The future for SA is unclear and unstable for sure, but that doesn't mean a return to the injustice of systems like apartheid are a good idea.

Don't cut and paste but tell me the history of RSA, apartheid, and Nelson Mandela. See if you can throw in the dates of when that land was stolen, RSA's economy pre and post 1990, and the just for grins, compare those stolen land dates with the USA. Reading the original intent of apartheid and seeing what happened after 1994 might surprise you as well.

The logic behind this whole mess reeks of the mindless attempt as dumping your wifes finest perfume into the spetic tank you have uncovered to hide the smell until they are done pumping it.

I wrote my senior thesis on the history and independence of Namibia, which was influenced by apartheid in RSA. I'm not going to re-write that for you, but yes, the League of Nations, of which the US was a part had a part in condoning the practice. Trying to convince me that returning to apartheid is a good idea or that it should have continued is a lost cause. I've pointed out that atrocities were committed on both sides of the conflict(s), but bashing Mandela in the wake of his death is bad form. I didn't even see this much vitriol when Kim Jung Il died - and I might have joined in on that. Mandela had the power and the numbers to completely take over RSA as a dictator and commit genocide against the Afrikaans in retaliation for 46 years of apartheid - but he didn't. He sought forgiveness and reconciliation and attempted to bring to warring sides to work together for the good of the people of the country. Any Christian worthy of the appellation should appreciate such an act of repentance.

Well you still glossed over things, and in regards to bad form, the attempted deification of a terrorist that supported the interests of our enemies is bad form as well.
I guess we will have to agree to disagree. Thankfully this is the US and 2013, so disagreeing with you won't cause me be subjected to one of those infamous neckties Madiba and his wife were so fond of.
Congrats on your thesis.

We shall agree to disagree. I'm fine with that. I am frankly a bit confused as too the deification/media worship we've had this week. Yes - he was a leader in his country that led a revolution of sorts, but in my book he's not in the ranks of MLK or Ghandi - actual non-violent revolutionaries. And I just can't wait to see how Obama will make Mandela's funeral all about Obama...he needs to hire an adviser that can tell him when to keep his mouth shut.

I'm gonna hafta disagree with Selmer too. I was there during Namibia's struggle for independence, and Mandela's ANC lads tried to kill me and a schittload of other whites in the business district of Windhoek with a car bomb.


I only wish I could make his funeral so I could piss on his grave�.

Confusion about Obama is something we can agree on. As far as the deification, if you look back to the 80s: Steve Biko, Nelson Mandela, and the anti-apartheid movement achieved a cult like status in Hollywood. In the first Lethal Weapon, there is an anti-apartheid magnet on Danny Glover's refrigerator, and of course the second one featured evil Afrikaners, complete with bad accents. I think it was a follow on to free Tibet.

ingwe - you know I have respect for you and your exploits. And I'll say this. If someone tried to blow me up with a car bomb, then I'd likely feel the same. You have reason. Peace be with you

Yeah�I kinda take it personally when someone tries to kill me�.

I dodged two more of his boy's bombs by listening to the little voice in my head�.

I would urge W to pass on this if he would listen, but he will not.

Would prefer that Pep Boys service A1 prior to departure and RSA provide the flight crew.

I think he has the money and if I was him, I would take my own plane. miles