Obama’s use of celebrity

Re “Obama-Winfrey road show rolls on,” Dec. 10

I am concerned about Oprah Winfrey’s power of persuasion. We already read her books, watch her show, subscribe to her magazine, purchase whatever she endorses, and now we may vote for the candidate she thinks is ideal. I’m not saying that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is or is not the best presidential candidate, but the use of someone else’s celebrity to enhance someone else’s candidacy is absurd and borders on unethical.

As a voter, I want to know what the candidate’s visions and goals are and, more important, how he or she plan to get there. I do realize that celebrities have been used in the past, but because of Winfrey’s vastly influential celebrity status, I’m afraid some voters will be voting for her rather than Obama.

Susana Porras

Pasadena

--

Two of the most prominent, articulate and decidedly un-Southern African Americans -- the Harvard-educated Obama and the queen of all media, Winfrey -- take their road show to South Carolina and pander to the black folks there like Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) to a Minuteman convention. And this guy has the chutzpah to question Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) veracity and integrity?

The only change we get with Obama is the artful dishonesty of raising the political road-show spectacle to Roman Colosseum standards.

Mitch Paradise

Los Angeles

--

I believe it’s a mistake for the Obama campaign to think that the use of Winfrey will garner votes. I believe she’ll lose more votes for him than she’ll gain. I know for sure of one he had and has now lost.

Timothy D. O’Reilly

Chicago