Obama and Mandela will be forever linked. Both men are transformational political figures who have overcome the madness of racism in order to demonstrate the triumph of man’s better nature. Each has won a Nobel Peace Prize. President Obama has said that Mandela is one of his heroes. And, according to reports, when he was told the president was coming to visit South Africa, Mandela opened his eyes and smiled (as of Wednesday night, there were no plans for Obama to visit Mandela).
While both men are important symbols, the comparison ends there. Mandela united a country that was deeply divided by oppressive policies and government-backed racism. Obama has failed to bring the United States together in a similar way, at least as of this juncture.
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