Opinion: Countering Oprah

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Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou go way back with each other. They find themselves at odds, however, in this season’s Democratic presidential contest.

A decade ago, Angelou’s memoir, ‘The Heart of a Woman,’ was one of the initial selections of the now-coveted Oprah Book Club. Indeed, it was the first work of nonfiction that Winfrey spotlighted for her audience.

But even as Winfrey was spending her weekend stumping for and with Barack Obama -- a tour that included a huge rally in South Carolina -- Angelou could be heard on radio stations in the Palmetto State lavishing Hillary Clinton with praise.

The spot is titled ‘My Girl,’ in homage to the great soul tune by the Temptations. You can listen to it here.

The differing choices made by Winfrey and Angelou underscore, in microcosm, the larger political conflict playing out among many black women in the Democratic race. The Times’ Robin Abcarian explored this phenomenon a few months ago.

-- Don Frederick