Even with the most negative spin that MediaMatters tried to put on it, these conservatives come across as respectful, fair, and willing to give tribute even to a violent Marxist, who had a change of heart in prison, and by all indications became a better man for it.
And this part...
Sean Hannity opened his December 5 program by noting the death of Mandela and his fight against apartheid, telling viewers: "Now, we'll continue to follow this story right here at the Fox News Channel, but also tonight: with each passing day we're learning more and more about just what a disaster Obamacare really is."
Hannity didn't actually devote a segment of the show to Mandela or follow up on the story in any substantive way, and Mandela's name only came up incidentally during the show as part of unrelated discussions (Cunningham's interjection, for example). The host did, however, close the program with prayers for Mandela's family, saying that Mandela lived "an incredible life, a courageous life, and he made the world a much better place."
During an appearance on The O'Reilly Factor on December 5, former Fox News contributor and failed Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Mandela "was fighting against some great injustice, and I would make the argument that we have a great injustice going on right now in this country with an ever-increasing size of government that is taking over and controlling people's lives, and Obamacare is front and center in that."
...is completely misrepresentative.
The day mandella died, I watched a solid block of Fox because of the breaking news, from Fox Report at 6PM, Greta Van Susteren at 7, O'Reilly at 8, Megyn Kelly at 9, and Hannity at 10.
EVERY ONE of them led with Mandella's death in the opening minutes of their program, and devoted considerable time and respect to remembering Mandela. Far more than I gave Mandella, as expressed in my earlier posts to this topic.
George Will and Charles Krauthammer were very respectful, and neither had a single unkind word to say about Mandella, which I found remarkable from two staunch conservatives.
Likewise all the rest.
The only partially negative comment I heard in the entire 5 hours about Mandella was by O'Reilly, where he said "granted, the guy was a communist, but hey, but even considering that, you have to acknowledge his accomplishments, he was a great man."
Even my own more harsh comments, I just wish to acknowledge that he started as a violent Marxist revolutionary before he evolved into a man of peace, and that his violent history made him justifiably suspect, even into the 5 years of his presidency.
And that South Africa did not become an enduring Utopia of racial harmony once he became president, or after.
And that he made some rather vindictive and shit-stirring comments about a U.S. government and multiple presidents (W. Bush in particular) who were (in sharp contrast) remarkably beneficial and gracious to him.
I resent the way the media, including Fox and other conservative pundits (despite Media Matters' slanders otherwise) are wiping Mandella clean of ugliness, and making him Christ-like in saintliness. Mandela did some violent, crazy, radical stuff. It is not mean spirited or hypocritical of conservatives to simply mention the bad with the good in review of Mandela's political life.