OpEdNews » The O-Zone. Will the Rarefied Air of Oprah Translate Into Votes for Obama or a Big Fat ZerO?

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Tag(s): Campaign Endorsements; Clinton Bill; Clinton-Hillary; Obama-Barack; South Carolina; Voting
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December 8, 2007 at 09:49:37

The O-Zone. Will the Rarefied Air of Oprah Translate Into Votes for Obama or a Big Fat ZerO?

by Sandy Sand Page 1 of 2 page(s)

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South Carolina. Tomorrow, Sunday, looks like it's shaping up to be a huge day for the two big Os.

So big in fact, that the 18,000-seat facility where Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey were first scheduled to appear had to be moved to the 80,000-seat Williams-Brice Stadium at the University of South Carolina, because the demand for tickets was so great.

According to some polls Obama has been closing the gap between himself and Hillary Clinton, and in some cases pulled ahead of her.

The question is, does anyone really care if Oprah or anyone else endorses a candidate, and does it help or hurt a candidate?

Okay, that's two questions.

I remember one time when it hurt, big time. It hurt me; I doubt it hurt Hal Linden, who was the star of "Barney Miller," and it wasn't a candidate he was endorsing, it was a "thing."

At the time, San Fernando Valley children were being bused out of the Valley to inner city schools to even up the educational playing field, so to speak. Linden joined forces with then mayor Tom Bradley to air public service messages.

Together, they urged Valley parents to obediently comply with the directive and put their kids on unsafe, unseat-belted buses for the freeway trek many miles from home.

Ironically, my son was scheduled to be bused to a school in West Los Angeles that would have been his home school if we hadn't moved to the Valley a couple of years earlier.

There were also the extend hours to be considered. In total, it meant an extra four hours a day that kids would waste getting up earlier, coming home later, and spending all that extra time breathing in fumes on congested freeways during both rush hours.

The mayor, showing absolute disrespect for the good sense of his constituents, was so fearful that Valley parents were going to riot. He felt he had to caution us to mind our manners -- as if we were a bunch of unruly school children -- and follow the rules like so many docile sheep.

It was a total affront to our intelligence and a slap in the face from two men whose children were in private school. They weren't obeying the court ordered school busing, so how dare they tell us what to do with our children.

I never turned "Barney Miller" on again.

To endorse or not to endorse, that is the question.

I don't care for Oprah. One has to wonder how good her people judgement is when after all, she's the woman who brought us the pompous, arrogant, insufferable Dr. Phil.

Oprah, just as any other personality, will turn out the groupies and curious to see her and her endorsed candidate, but it's questionable whether she can actually influence anyone to vote for Obama.

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5 comments

Professor Bagnolo is a Renaissance man: Cultural Anthropologist, Architectural designer, painter, writer, novelist, theologian. As a child prodigy, abed with polio for almost two years, with an off the charts IQ, reading at the graduate level by 5th grade, offered an opportunity to skip three grades at age 8.Later He was a recipient of an Art Institute scholarship at age 11, a Ford Foundation Fellowship in Anthropology and in Painting and a merit scholarship in art, and was appointed a Graduate ...

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Professor Emeritus Peter BagnoloProfessor Bagnolo is a Renaissance man: Cultural Anthropologist, Architectural designer, painter, writer, novelist, theologian. As a child prodigy, abed with polio for almost two years, with an off the charts IQ, reading at the graduate level by 5th grade, offered an opportunity to skip three grades at age 8.Later He was a recipient of an Art Institute scholarship at age 11, a Ford Foundation Fellowship in Anthropology and in Painting and a merit scholarship in art, and was appointed a Graduate ...

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Indeed, Madam...

I agree. I am neutral on Oprah, and have shifted my support from Obama. He is from my state and I have not been happy with his response to a number of things and his shifting and waiting for the lay-of-the-land before committing to a project or idea, is too wishy-washy for my taste and his almost preening-ly basking in Rock-Star, spotlight luster, is, to say the least, more than mildly disconcerting.

Therefore, I have no candidate at present, because Kucinich seems not to have attracted enough of a following and my next choice would not be a Democrat, but would be Ron Paul, or myself, or you or no one.

After the 409-6 vote in the House to destroy the last 10% of Habeas Corpus remaining on the "Home Grown Terrorist/Violence Act," with its plans for ubiquitous and sinister neighborhood cell/agent promulgation I am no longer at the least confident the Democrats have the, or even any, answers to our main concerns and if we are going to be without a Constitution or Habeas Corpus, it matters no longer to me, who is calling the shots.

by Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo (144 articles, 1 quicklinks, 95 diaries, 1311 comments) on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 12:26:45 PM

Sandy Sand began her writing career while raising three children and doing public relations work for Women's American ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training). That led to a job as a reporter for the San Fernando Valley Chronicle, a weekly publication in Canoga Park, California. In conjunction with the Chronicle, she broadcast a tri-weekly, 10-minute newscast for KGOE AM. Following the closure of the Chronicle, Sand became the editor of the Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier newspapers...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Sandy SandSandy Sand began her writing career while raising three children and doing public relations work for Women's American ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training). That led to a job as a reporter for the San Fernando Valley Chronicle, a weekly publication in Canoga Park, California. In conjunction with the Chronicle, she broadcast a tri-weekly, 10-minute newscast for KGOE AM. Following the closure of the Chronicle, Sand became the editor of the Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier newspapers...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Another possibility

I heard a rumor yesterday that Mike Bloomberg is a whisker's-width away from jumping into the fray.

by Sandy Sand (143 articles, 0 quicklinks, 196 diaries, 1381 comments) on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 12:51:22 PM

Harpist, unemployed blue collar worker, and Bush basher living deep in the heart of Texas.
PappyHarpist, unemployed blue collar worker, and Bush basher living deep in the heart of Texas.

Is it a bit...

...too early to express my complete fatigue over the gone-on-far-too-long-already (p)resident-ee-all race, or should I wait until I have Obama coming out my eyes, Hillary coming out my ears, and the rest of the lot oozing out of some skull-related orifices? If not, let me say that I am at a point now where I don't really give a flying fuck one way or another who wins!

Oprah...she has given so much...like cars, books, that evil, arrogant dickweed you spoke of in your article, and so on. Now, she decides that she's going to back Obama.

And...so....what?

Not that I have anything against her, but she seems to have a track record of backing the wrong horse. Is Dr. Phil anything more than a total loser who just happened to blow the right amount of smoke up her skirt? Then, there's that whole work of fiction sold as an autobiography, and what the revelation of the truth did to her, her credibility, and her book club. Once again, she backed the wrong horse, and had egg on her face as a result.

Lesson: Just because she has more money than God, and just because she has a devoted band of women and gay men willing to gulp down her bullshit in bucket-loads doesn't mean she knows it all, has it all together, or even remembers where she put it.

Frankly, I don't care who she, or Babs, or Tim Robbins, or any of the Neon-peons think is the right one for the job. Considering the assholes currently in the race, I'd not give you a plugged nickel for any of them...except perhaps John Edwards or (and I really hate to say this) Mike Huckabee.

|Waiting for the collective groans to die down|

Yes, I know, he's an ex-Baptist preacher. I know he's a Republican. I know many things about him run counter to me and my status as a human in this goddess-forsaken country. However, he strikes me as an honest, caring person...and considering the rabid, fucked-up asshole that is currently in residence at the White House, I'll take a few years of an honest man.

That's all I want out of a president...honesty. I want to be told that day is bright and night is dark, and be able to believe it. I want to be told that we are all on our way to hell, and we should get ready for a bumpy ride, instead of being told there's a tornado on the way, when there's not a cloud in the sky in a one hundred mile radius.

But I suppose that's another wish that I won't live to see. Too bad, really.

As fucked up as things are for me and those of my generation, I feel nothing but pity for the next three to five generations. They are going to pay a heavy price for the shitty state of the Union. They are going to be the ones who pay for DUBYA's destruction of the government. If I were them, I'd be pissed!

The next person in the White House will either alleviate this situation, or make it even worse...and I am thinking it's the latter.

Blessed be!
Pappy

by Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 860 comments) on Sunday, December 9, 2007 at 5:13:46 AM

i am a former teacher of 30 years with a history and political science major.I started getting politically active when Ronnie Regan ended my social security hopes for teahers
liberalsrocki am a former teacher of 30 years with a history and political science major.I started getting politically active when Ronnie Regan ended my social security hopes for teahers

this country is screwed

with kucinich all but dead this country is totally fucked,none of the democrats left will make a dent in the things that could chance it around .like an immoral war bankrupting us,our constitution being destroyed by Republicans and cowardly democrats,lack of universal healthcare as if the old chestnut of tax deductions will help people who can"t afford it anyway,stopping free trade and bringing back our industries.Kucinich was the only man who talked sense to these issues and America is too stupid to see that.that goes for my fellow so called Democrats.Will Oprah influence people,yes,she has great influence among the blacks and tv fanatics.Big deal.She endorsed Bush last election and helped him.I think the only reason she is endorsing Obama is because he is black not to change the world as she claims.The more i read of Obama the more i see he is just another corporate shill.so hold your nose and vote because the next election won"t mean anything and after it we will have traveled too far down th path of destruction to change a damn thing.To the people who support Paul on the other side,he is as much a corporate shill as any other Republican but he will save the constitution while destroying America by backing the greed which will destroy us anyway.so have a happy election America,you people Republicans and phoney democrats deserve what your getting.

by liberalsrock (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 117 comments) on Sunday, December 9, 2007 at 10:01:55 AM

57Yo m I'm a "been there, done that! Bought the tee shirt,to hide the scars!" type of person Ive workedï¿½many jobs fromï¿½a chicken slaughterer to managing a branch of a multinational and many jobs in between.Raised in colonial PNG Left School 16,Grad Hi school 22 Night School, University 36ï¿½ BBus (majored in Psyche and Marketing), Dip Comp prog and project Mmnt.at 50 I've been in 48 different community org ,23 on board with 18 prez or deputy prez.First social campaign at 17 for the aborigine...

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Andris57Yo m I'm a "been there, done that! Bought the tee shirt,to hide the scars!" type of person Ive workedï¿½many jobs fromï¿½a chicken slaughterer to managing a branch of a multinational and many jobs in between.Raised in colonial PNG Left School 16,Grad Hi school 22 Night School, University 36ï¿½ BBus (majored in Psyche and Marketing), Dip Comp prog and project Mmnt.at 50 I've been in 48 different community org ,23 on board with 18 prez or deputy prez.First social campaign at 17 for the aborigine...

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The whole Hal Lindum thing is relevant to Oprah's

endorsement how? I'm sorry Sandy but I'm struggling to see the point you're making.

psych 201 would answer the question in the affirmative it will make a difference to some but not to others. You're obviously not one but it is a well established fact that celebrities, particularly 'trusted one' do influence some people.

In voting there is a principal called the “Donkey voting” Where the individual simply chooses the lead name. How silly is it for a candidate to be voted in because he appears amiable and non threatening (Status Quo, not the band either)? Analyses I have seen suggest this was GWB’s best advantage in 2000. How silly is it for people to watch a debate and decide on ….what? They were hardly informative or full of substance.

Raymond Burr (Perry Mason TV lawyer) stated he was often sent viewers personal legal problems to solve.

Some people are impressed by the gratuitous use of titles others by degrees. It all goes to the need for recognition on behalf of the user and the need for authority by the reader. One could argue unless you sit down and analyze all polices from all candidates how can you say you’re truly informed when you vote?

by Andris (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 531 comments) on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 10:46:29 PM