Obama and Mandela

Obama was in Johannesburg today, rightly eulogizing Nelson Mandela. The event brings to mind how opposite they are and were.

I was really apprehensive at the time Mandela took office in South Africa. He had been imprisoned for 27 years and the record of leaders like Mugabe of Zimbabwe was not encouraging. I was surprised and thankful that Mandela turned out to be greater than his personal grievances.

Obama has been the opposite. Yes, a minority but raised by affluent relatives on his mother's side of the family. He wanted for nothing and attended the best private schools. He was elected by a white majority country even as he had minimal accomplishments of his own. And yet he has been a divisive leader who acts like the victim of some grievance rather than one of the luckiest guys in the world.