Toni Morrison
Author Toni Morrison, one of the most acclaimed African-American writers in history, today announced her endorsement of Barack Obama, the first time she has publicly backed a presidential candidate.
The endorsement, unveiled on the same day Senator Edward M. Kennedy will announce his support for Obama, is particularly poignant, coming after an acrimonious campaign with Hillary Clinton in South Carolina that seemed to turn partly on race. It was Morrison, after all, who famously dubbed Bill Clinton America's "first black president," a moniker that was truly tested last week by his aggressive campaigning against Obama.
In a letter to Obama, Morrison said it was his "creative imagination" that won her over.
"In thinking carefully about the strengths of the candidates, I stunned myself when I came to the following conclusion: that in addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates," she wrote. "That something is a creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom."
Morrison continued, "There have been a few prescient leaders in our past, but you are the man for this time. Good luck to you and to us."
Obama said in a statement, "Toni Morrison has touched a nation with the grace and beauty of her words, and I was deeply moved and honored by the letter she wrote and the support she is giving our campaign." For those of you counting at home, Obama, in terms of top-shelf black writers, now has Morrison and Alice Walker; Clinton has Maya Angelou.
Amid all the good news for Obama, however, Chicago businessman Tony Rezko, a former top Obama fund-raiser, is back in the spotlight: He was arrested today after federal prosecutors moved to revoke his $2 million bail. Rezko, whose ties to Obama have been an embarrassment to the Illinois senator during the campaign, is scheduled to stand trial Feb. 25 on charges of fraud, attempted extortion, and money laundering.
Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/01/after_raceladen.html
