Obama 'dances with the stars'

Saturday, November 8, 2008 (The Mirror Pg 46)
By Rebecca Kwei
Barack Obama made history last Tuesday by becoming the first African American President-elect and it is no secret that celebrities, particularly those from the entertainment industry, played a big role in his victory over John McCain.
He attracted high-profile endorsement from the likes of talk-show host, Oprah Winfrey. According to Oprah, Obama was the first candidate she had endorsed in her 25-year career.
She campaigned for him, with him and threw a celebrity fund-raiser at her California home that raised an estimated $3 million.
Oprah was among the tens of thousands of people gathered in Chicago to hear Obama give his victory speech and she could not help but shed tears. On her own show, Oprah said Obama's win had 'unleashed' her. Waving an American flag and wearing a Hope Won shirt, she shouted: 'Oh my God, Oh my God. Today is a new day for America.' 
"It feels like America did the right thing, It feels like there's a shift in consciousness. It feels like something really big and bold has happened here, like nothing ever in our lifetimes did we expect this to happen,” she told CNN.
For R&B singer Usher, "Barack Obama doesn't represent a colour. He represents change."
Black music producer and singer Sean Diddy Combs said, "I felt like my vote was the vote that put him into office ... And that may not be true but that's how much power it felt like I had."
Poet Maya Angelou, 80, author of the influential book "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", said she could barely talk without weeping as she remembered all the African-Americans who had struggled for civil rights in the past.
"We are growing up. My God, I'm so grateful," Angelou told "The Early Show" on CBS.
Other celebrities who campaigned and raised funds for Obama were George Clooney, Ben Affleck and wife Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Aniston, Robert Niro, Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Brat Pitt, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Madonna, Jay Z , Beyonce Knowles, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder, Leonardo DiCaprio and a host of others.
Not much is known about Obama’s entertainment life. So what made all these celebrities hit the campaign trail for him? Perhaps the words of actor, Samuel L. Jackson, sums it up — “We need somebody the world relates to in a very real kind of way.”