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Forty-first President George H.W. Bush prematurely announced former South African President Nelson Mandela's death Sunday morning.
The mix-up happened when President Bush's spokesman Jim McGrath misread a Washington Post news flash.
'The 41 stmnt sent this morning was the result of my mis-reading the header on the WaPo news flash. Stupid mistake by me. Apologies to all,' Mr McGrath tweeted Sunday morning.
The 41 stmnt sent this morning was the result of my mis-reading the header on the WaPo news flash. Stupid mistake by me. Apologies to all.
— Jim McGrath (@jgm41) September 1, 2013
The original statement read: 'Barbara and I mourn the passing of one of the greatest believers in freedom we have had the privilege to know. As President, I watched in wonder as Nelson Mandela had the remarkable capacity to forgive his jailers following 26 years of wrongful imprisonment — setting a powerful example of redemption and grace for us all. He was a man of tremendous moral courage, who changed the course of history in his country. Barbara and I had great respect for President Mandela, and send our condolences to his family and countrymen.'
The South African presidency corrected the statement, saying Mandela is still alive.
'It is clearly incorrect. We see it as an error on his side' and aren't going to 'make a big deal about it' presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said.
Nelson Mandela was discharged from the hospital Sunday after initially being admitted in June for a lung infection. He is still in critical condition.
Mr Mandela was taken by ambulance to his home in Johannesburg which has been set up to provide intensive care.
In a statement, the government said: 'Madiba's condition remains critical and is at times unstable.
'Nevertheless, his team of doctors are convinced that he will receive the same level of intensive care at his Houghton home that he received in Pretoria.'
Former President H.W. Bush is also dealing with health problems of his own.
He was unable to attend the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial last Wednesday because his old age has confined him to a wheelchair.
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據英國《每日郵報》報導，南非前總統曼德拉9月1日出院回家，美國第41任總統老布希當天竟然發表聲明，向曼德拉「去世」表示哀悼。
他在聲明中表示，「我和芭芭拉有幸認識這位最偉大的自由信徒之一，我們為他的去世表示哀悼。在任總統期間，我不無驚訝地看到他以非凡的胸襟，在度過26年冤獄生涯後毅然寬恕讓他身陷囹圄的人，為我們大家樹立了贖罪和風度的傑出典範，他以巨大的道德勇氣，改變了他的國家的歷史進程。我和芭芭拉非常尊重曼德拉總統，我們向他的家人和國人表示哀悼。」
對此，南非總統府表示曼德拉還活著。總統發言人麥哈拉傑糾正說，「這個聲明顯然有誤。我們認為是他那邊搞錯了，但不會為此小題大做。」
老布希的發言人吉姆·麥格拉思誤讀《華盛頓郵報》標題後迅速在推特上為此道歉。
尷尬之餘，老布希的發言人吉姆·麥格拉思迅速通過推特向公眾表示道歉。他說，總統發表該聲明是因為自己誤讀了《華盛頓郵報》新聞快訊標題，犯了愚蠢的錯誤。據悉老布希發表的哀悼曼德拉的聲明幾個星期前就已擬定好了。
據報導，曼德拉的病情依然危重，但是他已於9月1日乘救護車出院。他的醫療團隊保證讓他在家裡接受與醫院一樣的重症監護措施。而老布希本人也年事已高，也有健康問題，不得不坐在輪椅上，因而未能參加8月28日紀念馬丁·路德·金的活動。
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（譯者 yuanlu 編輯 王輝）