I'm pretty sure the known universe (you can throw in a few Vulcans and Romulans while you're at it) is keenly aware by now that Oprah Winfrey has formally submitted her endorsement for Senator Obama and I have to admit that it makes for quite a classy, if not historic sight. I have said many times that Oprah is a figure to be proud of, if one were to hold on to notions of tribalism. And I readily confess that I fade in and out of tribalism at the drop of a hat. But I do subscribe to at least character content being more important than color/culture politics. I want our readers to check out the above clip by my conservative colleague, Debbie Schlussel as she waxes poetic about Team Double O (Oprah and Obama, for the uninitiated). Are her points valid? Again, this is where I fade in out of racial tribalism like a soap opera's heart monitor. Whites can support any Caucasian political figure without consideration or criticisms alluding to racial solidarity. People of color being afforded that same privilege? Not so much. But in all fairness, shouldn't Oprah be critiqued for employing a dialect change before a Black South Carolinian crowd when Senator Clinton did the same thing earlier in her campaign? Here's an excerpt from Ms. Schlussel's take on the I holla phenomenon:
With all of the hoopla about Oprah's forays--this weekend--into Iowa, South Carolina, New Hamsphire, etc., on behalf of Barack Hussein Obama, I remind you of my views on Oprah's "in-kind" campaign contribution to his campaign, from late October. Also, I now ask (as forecasted in this video), why Oprah gets away with switching to a strong and very fake "urban" accent when she's speaking to Blacks in South Carolina (and "suburban" accent when she's rallying Whites in Iowa). (Remember, I did this without a teleprompter and thinking the strong lights would drown me out, thus the way-too-excessive makeup).
In addition, click on the link to check out video of the event in question:
Oprah/Obama webcast
So ultimately, what do you guys think? Oprah lent her name and cache to her South African academy and there were problems-can we blindly follow celebrity without questions in this case as well? Let's hear it.
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