That was intense! Thanks for posting that.

I've never been a huge fan of Oprah. Don't get me wrong ... the fact that a woman of color in this country has risen to to become one of the most well-known and influential people in the media, and that she's done so on the merits of her hard work and intelligence, is powerful and inspirational. But it's exactly that level of success which makes it hard for me to relate to her, when she's up on her show, schmoozing with celebrities and giving away baskets of her "favorite things," which are always things that are too expensive for even me, with my comfortable middle-class life, to afford. I would never go so far as to call her vapid -- she's certainly not that -- but she can be so saccharine at times that I wonder if she's forgotten the struggle. I think I'm probably too hard on Oprah. Anyone who Toni Morrisson likes can't be that bad.

I have a hard time with Barrack for the same reason, even though I plan on voting for him. Seeing that speech, in addition the will.i.am piece, though, makes me think that there is something bigger going on with that brother than just the sum total of his better-than-average, but still a bit right-wing for my tastes, voting record.

Do you think we're seeing history in the making? God, I hope so. I can't take any more hopeful delusion spread by people who are sick of seeing our dreams of a better world get shat on by bunch of greedy old white dudes, you know?

i'm with you jaime. i'm no huge oprah fan. you say a lot of good things. i also am by no means thinking that obama is christ, or the cure-all, or even completely in line with my beliefs. but i do think we are seeing history in the making. and i do think he is a born leader to the degree that it is foolish to deny him the chance to take this nation to a new place, given how he can affect so many different people. all the people want change, we want to hope, we want to renew our feelings about citizenship and our global community and interaction, our self-image, and our deeds as a country. so like a friend of mine says, if the people lead the president, maybe he can help us realize these things on the levels we cannot in our communities and in our lives. i feel it is worth a shot.

I don't always agree with Oprah either, but when the sister speaks? She speaks with fire. I think that's what I've always loved about her, even if everything she says doesn't catch a spark with me.

But I definitely loved the way she gave this speech, and I agree with her. To say that black women have been caught in a crossfire because of the Democratic nomination is an understatement. Plus there has been a lot of punditry that has tried to limit what people choose and why they choose it to digestible soundbytes that inevitably lead to the conclusion we're all stupid. And I like this race because I think that the best and wisest candidates coming out of these crowds are the ones who are trying to give voters more credit for being thinking, politically conscious, and aware people. It gives that opportunity for everyone to start thinking of themselves that way. And that's the best gift from this election so far. I only hope the momentum keeps moving.

well said, sylvia. and i'll be the first to admit, oprah kicks ass with this delivery.

thanks for posting this, I just posted somethingo n my site about this as well--but I had no idea that oprah was taking the flak she's taking. good for her to stand up on this.

jaja..clearly, she can take care of herself. i'll repeat my sentiment to sylvia. despite the things about her which gall me, la mujer can deliver serious diction! straight from tha subwoofer aortic revolution!

Mhm!!!! I am a *free* woman...hoowee. can you feel my tingly skin?

whoa! i think i did for a moment there.

Well unlike most of you I cannot stand Oprah she makes me sick. I believe she is racist against Latinos. I have never seen her spend a whole hour about Latinos accomplishments or problems.I understand it is her show and she has a right to have whomever she wants on it,but being a woman of color she should understand how hard it is for all of us.
She finds time to say "why everybody loves Julia Roberts or Tom Hanks" gosh she makes me sick............
I believe she is only voting for Obama because he is black. What makes me more ill is if he gets elected she will schmoozing it up in the white house every other weekend and probably giving out her basket of favorite things...yuck.

hmmm. i think "most of us" said we dont normally like oprah. did you read the comments fully?

and she claims very strongly here that she is not voting for him because he is black. did you watch the clip?

Thanks for this, Nez. Sometimes the Cult of Oprah makes me cringe. But she's like anybody else who gets to the top of her profession - Bruce Springsteen, George Clooney, whoever - it takes a fair amount of intelligence, drive and determination to get where she is, and maybe that also gives her some insight into this race that other folks don't have. That doesn't make her any better than you or me, but maybe she does have something worth saying, on occasion. (Which is not to say you and I don't have plenty worth saying, of course.)

Anyway, she gave a damn good speech, and this one time she's right on the money.

Now, if only I could get her to let some o' that loose change come my way, y' know?

celebrities aren't perfect or golden and by no means should or could they or do i expect them to be. but it does take ambition, talent and skill to make it eSPECIALLY as a black woman. this isnt about, for me, oprah. it is about the energy and vibe and vision she ALSO is tapping into and channeling. its evident in her speech.

I'm a free woman too!

I want to know what the three-year old son said.

That "don't play me small" line killed me too.

I'm a great fan of Oprah's success, and let's face it, for a billionaire she has stepped over far fewer people than most of the others. The TV persona {I've seen her show in shops and bank lines on the tube, I don't own a screen}is a construct, my friends, that she acts out for the target audience. She is an actress let us not forget. I didn't watch her video that Nez posted {I have dial up}, but from the little I have seen of Miss O, I would bet she was not at all shy. Yeah, the show is kind of silly and exhibited a naive emotional construct the few times I saw parts of it, but that appeals to her audience. She and the network know that. It's business.
I am only surprised that she bothered to answer her critics. The Queen was not amused, but apparently not mute either. I have the greatest respect for Oprah, but I wouldn't vote for candidate X just because she said so. I am not sure what products she advertises on her show but I bet I never buy most of them and never will. Corporate swill irritates me. She is the president of an advertising medium and she is a Brand.
Nez has exactly the same kind of operation, but far fewer viewers. If Oprah has decided to promote the Obama Brand, I would first have to look into the product and hope it wasn't swill. That's the real problem with Oprahizum. Is she shilling for swill, or is she sincere? I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt about Obama, but I am sure her show pushes tons of useless and even harmful consumer crap every day. Not that all of these TV shows do anything different than she does in that regard, but how does one separate her soul messages from her consumer messages?
For those who think I am saying something negative or positive here about Obama, I am not. For those who think I am saying something very negative about the medium that Queen Oprah has conquered, BINGO. But Oprah herself? She's great. Her, not the construct.

HEY! if i have the same brand as her but she has more viewers and she is corporate swill and that irritates you...what you are you saying? i better stay much less popular or you will turn on me? sheesh! i bet you only liked metallica in their early days, too! when they were all thrashy and hardly anyone knew of them, eh? EH? ;)

Metallica? I wonder who they're endorsing.

Seriously, though, anybody who can get Oprah Winfrey, Robert DeNiro, Joan Baez and the Grateful Dead (Sans Jerry) on the same page ... well, holy shit, that's some damn unity, man.

Oh, but that hump Jonah Goldberg accuses Obama of promoting fascism when he talks about unity. Well, nobody said we should all get along.

Has anyone else noticed that Oprah does not have Latinos on her show or has even talked about anything having to do with hispanics. She lives in Chicago you would think her population of audience would be mostly of latin descent. I sen an email to Larry King on CNN, pointing out the obvious too.