Oprah brought out some 29,000 people at Obama's rally in South Carolina. Politics does not normally draw that kind of crowd, at least not in apathetic America. And Oprah does not normally endorse candidates. Obama is the first.
Kudos to Oprah for participating in politics by standing up for the candidate she believes in. If more people were politically active, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in.
While I have serious doubts about Obama's ability to withstand the Republican smear machine in the general election, I can't help being encouraged about the fact that Obama's candidacy is a blow for progress in this historically racist, aka backward, cowboy nation.
That said, I'm voting for the candidate who looks most like a secular humanist. Obama ain't it.
Politico reports that the South Carolina rally was "suffused with Christian – and at times messianic – rhetoric" and "Oprah Winfrey described Obama in near-messianic language in South Carolina, calling him 'the one.'"
Obama's opening remarks were lines I expect to hear in a church, not a political rally: "I give all praise and honor to God. Look at the day the Lord has made."
And I thought it was bad listening to the bat-shit crazy Republicans argue over who gets to be God's 'chosen' candidate. If Obama and preacher Huckabee go to the general election with this kind of holy rhetoric, this nation is beyond hope.
In Iowa, Oprah stated that she's voted for Republicans as often as she's voted for Democrats. That's a pretty damn rare voting record for an African American. And it's pathetic. If Oprah is telling the truth, rather than playing politics, then she's been contributing to the problem. I really thought better of her than that.
Part 2 at Youtube
Eriposte has a very informative analysis of data comparing Obama's record as 'triangulator' with that of Senator Clinton. Here's a teaser: "In way too many of these instances, it is clear that if Sen. Clinton had acted in the same way as Sen. Obama, she would have been trashed relentlessly as a Desperate Calculating TriangulatorTM and torn to shreds by her critics (oh wait...). Sen. Obama, on the other hand, generally continues to enjoy The Progressive SaintTM status. This Clinton Double Standard is as interesting as it is appalling."
In N.H., 8,500 Attend Oprah Rally for Obama
Newsweek, Howard Fineman: Star Power
Obama Oprah Democratic News Race Politics Iowa Video South Carolina Church and State Christian Politics Triangulator Hillary