Biden signs condolence book for Mandela

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, visited the South African embassy in Washington, D.C., Monday morning to sign a condolence book for Nelson Mandela, the former South African president who died last week.

"On behalf of the American people, our deepest condolences to the people of South Africa for the passing of Nelson Mandela.  But more than that, our profound gratitude -- for his compassion, his humility, and his courage.  Through his unflagging, unflinching commitment to human dignity and his willingness to forgive, he inspired us and challenged us all to do better,” Biden write, according to the Vice President’s office. “He once said that a good head and a good heart is a formidable combination. Mandela’s head and heart lifted a nation to freedom.  We will continue to keep his spirit alive and strive to live by his example."

The embassy – down the street from the U.S. Naval Observatory, where Biden lives – has become an impromptu memorial site since Mandela’s death. Visitors have placed flowers and tributes at the foot of a recently dedicated statue of the South African leader in front of the embassy.

As he looked at the statue, Biden recalled a visit to South Africa in 1977 where he was unable to meet with Mandela, who was jailed. The two later met after Mandela was released.

Biden called him, “The most remarkable man I met in my whole career.”