“The whole Obama phenomenon brings up memories from my distant past: the good-looking guy who talks real good, whose line you don't buy immediately but whose charm is so dazzling that he gradually convinces you that this time it will be different.”

American self-help author, speaker, and political activist

Marianne Williamson is an American self-help author, speaker, and political activist. She began her career as a spiritual leader at the Church of Today, a Unity church in Warren, Michigan, and later became widely known in the 1990s through her appearances on Oprah Winfrey's show. She wrote several self-help books, including A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles, published in 1992 and later a New York Times best seller. She was also known as Winfrey's spiritual advisor, and her work often circles around spirituality, healing, and personal transformation.