Oprah and Maya Angelou: When It Comes to Politics, Friendship Has Its Limits

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: When It Comes to Politics, Friendship Has Its Limits
By JUSTON JONES
Published: July 23, 2007

Anyone who has ever watched “The Oprah Winfrey Show” or read O, the Oprah Magazine, knows that there are few people Oprah Winfrey reveres as much as Maya Angelou, the writer, activist and longtime professor. Ms. Winfrey often quotes bits of wisdom from Ms. Angelou on her show. Furthermore, the talk-show host has chosen one of Ms. Angelou’s memoirs (“The Heart of a Woman”) as a selection for her book club, named Ms. Angelou one of the 25 honorees at her Legends Ball earlier this year and has even given Ms. Angelou a weekly radio show on the “Oprah & Friends” channel on XM Satellite Radio....

Despite such admiration, when it comes to politics, clearly friends can agree to disagree. Both have made high-profile endorsements of Democratic candidates, but not to the same one: Ms. Winfrey supports Senator Barack Obama of Illinois; Ms. Angelou backs Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

Ms. Winfrey publicly endorsed Mr. Obama on “Larry King Live” on CNN in early May. On that program, she said, “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.”...

Meanwhile, Ms. Angelou, who was the poet at President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration in January 1993, is now appearing on Mrs. Clinton’s Web site in a taped video segment where she eloquently explains her pride in the Clinton candidacy, describing rather poetically what it means for women.

“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women. I admire that she is able to be a mother and a politician,” she says of Mrs. Clinton. “African-American women have known a lot about that. All our lives on these shores, in these mountains, on these hills, in these streets, we know a lot about multitasking.”...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/us/politics/23oprah.html

[Madspirit]

1. k&r...Interesting

Neither are my candidates of choice. I will vote for either if they are the nominee. However, that said, if they ran together, regardless of how many of us here feel, they would be unstoppable.

Lee

[Colobo]

2. Thumbs up for Oprah.

[Ian David]

3. Was it Maya Angelou who stood to praise Louis Farakahn at the Million Man March? n/t

[AZBlue]

4. I would expect nothing less.

I have friends who are Republicans.

[LoZoccolo]

5. wyldwolf and I are supporting different candidates, lol.

Funny that a few people think we're both part of some conspiracy of paid operatives.

[illinoisprogressive]

6. I'm with Oprah!