Omarosa talks politics, Obama

I have newfound respect for Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth. The former “Apprentice” contestant was mingling at Mezcal on Colfax Ave. Sunday night, attending the Creative Coalition and National Congressional Black Caucus Celebration of African-American Leaders Reception.

Despite being in the same room with celebrities such as Spike Lee and actress Alfre Woodward, Manigault-Stallworth wasn’t there as a celebrity, but as a lifelong Democrat attending her fifth national convention.

We didn’t talk about her getting fired twice from “The Apprentice,” or any other antics that have made her famous – or infamous. It was all about politics. (For the record, she was extremely friendly.)

“My role (here) is to simply be a Democrat. I’m a Democrat first,” said Manigault-Stallworth, a former vice-chairwoman for the African-American Leadership Coalition and political appointee in the Clinton/Gore administration. She also has a PhD from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

“I started passing out leaflets for Jesse Jackson’s first race in Youngstown, Ohio,” she said.

She said that she’s looking to work with her fellow party members to create an effective strategy for getting Barack Obama elected.

“It’s been wonderful to see his star rise,” she said, adding that she was an organizer for a fundraiser with Obama several years ago. It was the fundraiser where Obama and chief strategist David Axelrod first met.

Following the convention, Manigualt-Stallworth said that she would go to her home state of Ohio to campaign and raise money for Obama.

“I’m doing whatever it takes (to help Obama win),” she said.

Her advice to Obama?

“You’ve got to stay with your base,” she said. “You have to make sure your constituents understand that every vote counts. He has to stress his base.”

She said the turnout at the Sunday event was “spectacular” and did mention that she has a new book out called “The Bitch Switch,” remarking, that “sometimes you have to turn it on or turn it off.”

She did let drop that she was at a party Saturday night in Bel Air, California with “The Donald” along with a bunch of a-list celebrities, and musical guest Christina Aguilera. “The Donald” (Trump) was celebrating his new hotel project in Dubai, she said.

Considering her work with the Al Gore campaign and her infamous personality she’s known for, I asked Manigualt-Stallworth if Obama needed to “go negative” to win.

“He’s going to have to take a page out of my playbook,” she said.

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