The question of God’s role in American politics has not exactly been on the back burner these past few years. And so it is worth noting that God has finally made her presence felt and directly intervened in the current campaign. She has actually endorsed one candidate and is even throwing a fundraiser for him on September 8.
By God, I mean, of course, Oprah Winfrey. Who else? It is extremely hard to think of a figure who attracts more instant awe, reverence and eyeballs than the billionaire entertainment mogul. She manages somehow to transcend blue and red America, with her combination of endless compassion and sensible self-help. She is white America’s favourite black woman, and black America’s favourite mainstream star.
Her hold on the psyches of American women of all races is enormous. And the man who most needs both to reboot his Hollywood money machine and also win over more Democratic women is the man Oprah has decided to endorse for the first time in her career: Barack Obama.
The e-mail invites went out last week, promising “the most exciting Barack Obama event of the year anywhere”. Oprah’s endorsement, made on the Larry King show, was not exactly understated either: “I think that what he stands for, what he has proven that he can stand for, what he has shown, was worth me going out on a limb for and I haven’t done it in the past because I haven’t felt that anybody – I didn’t know anybody well enough to be able to say, ‘I believe in this person’.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/andrew_sullivan/article2115213.ece
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