A dip into the pool reports: delayed

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

From the White House pool reports filed by Politico's Josh Gerstein, who on Tuesday covered President Obama's trip to South Africa for the Nelson Mandela memorial service:

With the First National Bank stadium looking less than half full on TV at the designated 11 AM start time for the Mandela memorial service, POTUS delayed his departure for the event. ...

POTUS finally underway just after noon, following playing of the South African national anthem to kick off service. ...

POTUS and FLOTUS have made their way to seats in the VIP section, which is covered from the elements. It's also a couple of tiers up in the stadium, a long way from the stage where people are speaking and Mandela family is seated.