"I Heard That" -- Oprah Campaigns for Obama

by Rochelle Metcalfe, 2007-12-12

Run, Obama, Run ... Run with him, Oprah! Exactly what Oprah Winfrey, Queen of the highest-rated day time talk show in television history, did last weekend in a kickoff 3-stop tour with Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) that began in Iowa, Saturday; Sunday stops in South Carolina and New Hampshire!

The richest African American of the 20th Century, and the world’s only Black billionaire, and most influential woman in the world, Winfrey has embraced Obama’s run for the White House! Stepping out of the “pew” declared this is the first time she has publicly made such an endorsement! The tour was a huge success. Winfrey wanted women to be exposed to the audacious Black Senator who dared to run for the White House!

This phenomenal woman is putting her power behind the Senator in hopes women of all political persuasion and color will support him as well; it's reported her audience is 75% female. White women love her!

Watched C-SPAN coverage in Iowa, a huge turnout of White folks (few Blacks live in the state) there to see Winfrey! Listened about 20 minutes, turned it off; at the time Obama was, in my estimation, too flat, same rhetoric - no fire in his belly!!! But then a speech should not make the man, for he’s more than about grand standing!

Let’s not fool ourselves. Crowds came out to see Winfrey, but the tour helped Obama. She became involved because, like many of us, she’s “tired of politics as usual,” urged don’t believe the hype when it's brought up that Obama is not experienced enough to be in the White House! She expressed at the mike “experience in the hallways of government isn’t as important to me as experience on the pathway of life!” I Heard That!

Winfrey knows how to play her cards in white Corporate America who controls her media outlets! Obviously not fearful to take a risk putting her power behind a black man, crossing another path in life, political endorsement of Obama, therefore she must believe in the man who represents her district of Chicago! So Go Girl!! Star-power your Senator!

She has launched number-one best sellers on the New York Times book list after an author has appeared on her show. Can Winfrey’s money and influence put Obama in the White House? I don’t think so, but let’s see where it goes, for the time is ripe - it's a new day in politics! “Our moment is now,” declared Obama. Yes, it’s time for a black man to sit in the White House that has been White for too long!

Last Friday night, I celebrated my birthday taking in “The Color Purple,” the musical produced by Oprah, which closed this past Sunday at the Orpheum Theater here in the City. Impressed with the production and cast, but can’t say more than that because I didn’t see the entire show!

Check it out - met friends for dinner at the popular 1300 on Fillmore Restaurant and Lounge - Velmar Landers, owner popular self-titled nightclub in the City, and two retired distinguished gents Julius “JB” Banks and Lionel Hornsby. Therefore champagne, delicious 5-star meal, full, left the group to dash off to the theater for for the 8 o’clock curtain. Embarrassed to say, started nodding; during intermission summoned my driver, left the theater! I knew dinner before the show was the wrong move, plus I’m a matinee theatergoer!

The weekend ended Sunday at Monster Park (still the ‘Stick to me) and the San Francisco 49ers game - dag, another loss but will remain a faithful season-ticket holder ... since 1975. While in the 49er VIP room with other guests, mostly media, ran into one of my favorite people - San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty (Dist. 8) with his posse of friends that included former Chronicle sportswriter Chuck Nevius, still writing for the paper, but covering metro stories.

Dufty and I met before he became Supervisor at a political function for Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. We were drawn in conversation remembering Lady Day - Billie Holliday, whom he knew coming up as a young child for she was close with his family; he attended her funeral. Dufty invited me to join him and guests in one of the luxury suites offered him that day; hung out until Half-time then on to the Stadium Club to complete gameday ... never did sit in my seat!

In closing, December 7, 2006, my birthday was spent in New Orleans touring the Lower Ninth Ward where hundreds of homes were destroyed by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005! Painful to see blocks and blocks of houses toppled, crushed, some standing ripped off their foundations! Still nothing significant has happened to rebuild.

Bush can spend billions of dollars on War in Iraq, but refuse to jump-start New Orleans! We must never forget this horrible tragedy in the pages of American History, captured live on TV for the world to see how people of color and poor Whites were treated - ignored as they yelled from roof tops, water high below, crying to be saved! Many lives were lost - torn apart; separation. Those who survived are scattered throughout the country - lost!

Hey, it's nice to be nice and to all of you out there ... look for me ... I'll be there ...

E-mail Rochelle at iheard@earthlink.net