Bush has made plenty of dumb statements, but this one really takes the cake. He should apologize to Nelson Mandela.
Via Democratic National Committee: Blog:
This makes my head hurt:
In a press conference this morning, President Bush tried to assert that Saddam’s brutal rule over Iraq wiped the country clean of potential democratic reformers–individuals who may have possessed leadership skills like former South African President Nelson Mandela. In doing so, Bush inartfully suggested Saddam killed Mandela.
I thought an interesting comment was made–somebody said to me, I heard somebody say, “Now, where’s Mandela?” Well, Mandela’s dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas.
Faiz at Think Progress points out that Nelson Mandela (who is alive) is a strong opponent of the war in Iraq. Before the war, he condemned Bush as “a president who can’t think properly.”