oprah.jpgOprah Winfrey is like a demi-god. She can sell books to a lacklustre public fed on the staple of TV and the Internet. She can move people to tears and single-handedly heave a charity drive into motion. But can she influence the votes cast for president of the United States? The power of the mass media and celebrity has always been a force to be reckoned with but Winfrey is in another league altogether. She is determined, famous, and influential. Having her support could be the determining factor for president hopeful, Barack Obama, the first African American to run for arguably the most powerful position in the world.

This trend of choosing a president based on the endorsement of celebrities is a mockery of the democratic system. If people cannot choose responsibly and rationally but based on their favourite celebrity’s opinion, then their votes can be easily bought with good looks, money, and glamour. Towing a celebrity along in an election campaign is as cheap as giving away free gifts to buy votes. It is an insult to the public’s intelligence though it is wretchedly necessary to beat the competition.