The difference in how time has treated Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is nothing short of amazing.
Mugabe was hailed as one of the most promising young African leaders, a shining example of strong, black post-colonial leadership on the continent and a budding star on the world leadership stage when I was studying Southern African Studies at Rutgers University.
That was 1984.
Today, Mugabe is decried as a poster boy for the African potentate run amok, a leader who breaks rules and bones of political opponents to hold on to power by absolutely any means necessary.
It's a sad transformation that was underscored yet again this week as Mugabe (pictured above at the event) mournedthe death of his sister, Sabina Mugabe, 80, a former Parliament member and top presidential advisor, at a state funeral.
Mugabe used the occasion to attack Europe and America again for imposing banking, travel and other commercial sanctions on his impoverished country, forcing his overdue ouster.
Western nations were able to nudge Mugabe to sign a power-sharing deal with longtime adversary Morgan Tsvangirai, who is now prime minster. Western observers, though, believe Mugabe has done little to abide by the agreement and has delayed government reform.
Mugabe has presided over a country that has been in a free fall since white minority rule was ended in 1980. Zimbabwe's fertile farming industry once fed much of the continent. Now there are reports (disputed by some Zimbabweans) of people having to eat cow dung, rats and roots just to survive.
I have no doubts that Mugabe wanted the best for his people during his 30 years of rule. The problem is, however, that he has put his personal interest ahead of the people's.
Mugabe's failed leadership proves the age-old maxim: running a successful revolution is far different than running a successful nation.
23-July-10 - A child pyromaniac is suspected of murdering his mother and siblings, setting fire to his home, and then slitting his own throat with a razor.
23-July-10 - A child pyromaniac is suspected of murdering his mother and siblings, setting fire to his home, and then slitting his own throat with a razor.
22-July-10 - Ieshuh Griffin is a legislative candidate from Wisconsin who seems willing to do whatever it takes to get elected. In the five words that candidates are allowed to put on the ballot to describe themselves, Griffin put the phrase, "Not the white man's b*tch."
21-July-10 - DeFarra Gaymon, a father of four and the CEO of Credit Union of Atlanta, was shot to death in a Newark, N.J. park known for male prostitution.
20-July-10 - Snoop Dogg and his wife revealed to People Magazine that the discovery that their then-6-year-old daughter, Cori, had lupus helped bring their family closer.
20-July-10 - Gangsta-rapper-turned-actor Ice-T was reportedly pulled over by New York City police officers early on Tuesday for driving without a seat belt.
14-July-10 - An Iowa Tea Party group recently caused an uproar by creating a billboard that compares President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin.
14-July-10 - Cad-about-town Tiki Barber has been hit with a $1-million lawsuit by a fitness company that has rendered him "worthless overnight" as its spokesperson, because he cheated on his pregnant wife.
14-July-10 - Fox News reporter Megyn Kelly (pictured) and New York Post columnist Kirsten Powers went at it recently regarding charges from a former Justice Department lawyer who claims that civil rights cases in which whites are the victims are ignored.
13-July-10 - A criminal investigation should be opened for two officers who Tasered and pepper-sprayed a 57-year-old Georgia woman who called police to report a prowler.
13-July-10 - Aimee L. Sword, 36, pled guilty to having sex with the biological son she gave up for adoption, whom she later tracked down on the Internet via Facebook.
