海角大神

"I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that he set, and so long as I live I will do what I can to learn from him.鈥�

With those words, in a tribute to Nelson Mandela delivered just minutes after news broke that the iconic South African leader had passed away, President Obama captured what Mr. Mandela meant to him.

America鈥檚 first black president included himself among the 鈥渃ountless millions鈥� who drew inspiration from Mandela鈥檚 journey from 鈥渁 prisoner to a president,鈥� and his central role in the undoing of his country鈥檚 apartheid regime of racial segregation.

Mr. Obama鈥檚 own journey of self-discovery and activism flowed from the anti-apartheid divestment movement, which he joined in 1981 as a sophomore at Occidental College in Los Angeles.

In his 1995 memoir 鈥淒reams from my Father,鈥� Obama writes of contacting representatives of the African National Congress to speak on campus, drafting letters to faculty, printing flyers, arguing strategy. Through that, he discovered the power of his own voice.

鈥淚 noticed that people had begun to listen to聽my opinions,鈥� Obama writes. 鈥淚t was a discovery that made me hungry for words. Not words to hide behind but words that could carry a message, support an idea.鈥�

Obama remembers imagining that with the right words, everything could change 鈥� 鈥淪outh Africa, the lives of ghetto kids just a few miles away, my own tenuous place in the world.鈥�

In his remarks Thursday, Obama recalled studying Mandela鈥檚 words and writings as he prepared for his first foray into political activism. And nine years later, he took inspiration from Mandela鈥檚 newfound freedom after 27 years in prison.

鈥淭he day that he was released from prison gave me a sense of what human beings can do when they鈥檙e guided by their hopes and not by their fears,鈥� Obama said.

Obama met Mandela once, in 2005, in a hotel room in Washington, D.C. Obama was then a freshly minted senator from Illinois, and he took a detour while in Georgetown to see his idol, who was staying at the Four Seasons. Mandela was only vaguely aware of who Obama was, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Only exists 鈥� a picture taken by an aide, David Katz.

鈥淚n some ways the picture parallels their relationship: symbolism overtaking reality,鈥� in the LA Times in June of this year, as Obama prepared to travel to South Africa.

Since Obama's election as president, he and Mandela spoke by phone several times, but they never met. The former South African president was too ill to see Obama during last summer鈥檚 visit. As a senator in 2006, Obama visited South Africa, but Mandela was unwell and they didn鈥檛 meet. 聽

In June 2011, first lady Michelle Obama, the Obamas鈥� daughters, Malia and Sasha, and Mrs. Obama鈥檚 mother, Marian Robinson, at his home while on a 10-day trip to Africa. The photo of the meeting shows Mandela signing his latest book for Mrs. Obama.

But perhaps the tenuous personal connection between Obama and Mandela isn鈥檛 the point. Obama also draws inspiration from the legacy of civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated when Obama was six years old, and from President Lincoln 鈥� two men who paved the way for Obama鈥檚 election as president.

Busts of both men sit in the Oval Office. Obama also has a framed program from the 1963 March on Washington, where聽Dr. King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, and a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Last month, Obama held a White House screening of 鈥淢andela: Long Walk to Freedom,鈥� the new film based on Mandela鈥檚 1994 biography. Shortly after Mandela鈥檚 death was announced, Obama issued a proclamation ordering American flags to be lowered to half-staff until sunset on Monday, Dec. 9.

Friday morning, White House press secretary Jay Carney announced that the president and first lady would travel to South Africa next week to 鈥減ay their respects to the memory of Nelson Mandela and to participate in memorial events.鈥�

The funeral is expected to be on Sunday, Dec. 15. But the eulogies began as soon as Mandela鈥檚 passing was known.

鈥淲e will not likely see the likes of Nelson Mandela again,鈥� Obama said Thursday. 鈥淪o it falls to us as best we can to forward the example that he set: to make decisions guided not by hate, but by love; to never discount the difference that one person can make; to strive for a future that is worthy of his sacrifice.鈥�

In his final line, Obama echoed King as he honored Mandela:

鈥淔or now, let us pause and give thanks for the fact that Nelson Mandela lived, a man who took history in his hands, and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice. May God bless his memory and keep him in peace.鈥�