The fact that anyone would take this as a literal statement, shocks me. Yet, a good number of commentators at ThinkProgress did.

Doesn’t someone like, you know, prep him and stuff, before he goes on TV?

Wasn’t there anyone at the White House who was aware that Nelson Mandella is alive and who could have passed this information along to Dumbya before he went out and made a complete fool of himself?

Jesus and Mary, Mother of God! I know the man was trying to be metaphorical, but he’s come completely unhinged! Republicans, I give you your president. Enjoy.

Perhaps we should sought through the 3/4 of a million dead corpses and see if we can find nelson among them ?Maybe he’s alive and living as a refugee along with 4 million others along the Syrian border ?

After listening to this I too am beginning to wonder if there are limits to free speach !Think of the embarrasment we would be saved if someone would censor this guy .

That’s a sample. Luckily some there were sane enough to realize what he was saying, but not enough. Bush’s statement?

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.

Attention all moonbats: He’s saying that there is no one there like Mandela, because Saddam killed all of the Mandelas. It’s called a metaphor. He wasn’t actually implying, as hard as it is to believe, that Saddam Hussein killed Nelson Mandela. Good to know that we Conservatives are the dumb ones.

Update: Good God. Reuters reports:

Nelson Mandela is still very much alive despite an embarrassing gaffe by U.S. President George W. Bush, who alluded to the former South African leader’s death in an attempt to explain sectarian violence in Iraq.

“It’s out there. All we can do is reassure people, especially South Africans, that President Mandela is alive,” Achmat Dangor, chief executive officer of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said as Bush’s comments received worldwide coverage.

Oy.