I’m conflicted. As most of you should be aware, Oprah is a part of my ‘Google Rules the World’ conspiracy theory. She is to become the queen of the ‘information world’ as controlled by Google. Her power is enormous. I could write a book tomorrow and whether it was rubbish or not, if I got on her TV show, it would be an instant classic. She controls the hearts, minds and most importantly purchasing practices of a large swath of the American public. It is for this reason that I hesitate to applaud the addition of the ‘Oprah Effect’, as described in this BBC article, to the Obama campaign.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7137683.stm
As the author points out, her power is amazing. This, I believe, bodes well for Obama, especially in winning a voting population that clearly overlaps with Hillary’s. However, I beg Obama to use her powers sparingly. I don’t think we have seen the true power of the beast that lives within…I’m just saying.
On another note, I was reading in the NYTimes this morning about the Clinton campaign’s ‘concerns’ about Obama’s past drug use because it’s potential use as fodder by the Republican nominee. I just wonder how this can still be an issue when our current President was also a known alcoholic and cocaine abuser. I guess being born again excuses any former illegal trespasses, not just the religious. And again, should we be more concerned about a candidate who used to smoke marijuana and snort cocaine, than about our other politicians who are alcoholics and/or pedophiles? Maybe the Oprah Effect will help people look past these mundanities.
