The first time we heard of his death through G.W. Bush’s assertion that Saddam killed South Africa’s first democratically elected President, along with his former wife Winnie, and the rest of the Mandela line.

Part of the reason why there is not this instant democracy in Iraq is because people are still recovering from Saddam Hussein’s brutal rule. I thought an interesting comment was made when somebody said to me, I heard somebody say, where’s Mandela? Well, Mandela is dead, because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas. He was a brutal tyrant that divided people up and split families, and people are recovering from this. So there’s a psychological recovery that is taking place. And it’s hard work for them. And I understand it’s hard work for them. Having said that, I’m not going the give them a pass when it comes to the central government’s reconciliation efforts.

Fortunately for us, news of Mandela’s death are greatly exagrerated. Recent news reports inform us that Nelson Mandela is very much alive.