Oprah Winfrey gives Barack Obama the gift of opportunity

DES MOINES -- It was, as they say in campaign vernacular, a "good event" for Barack Obama. With daytime television host -- and one-woman media juggernaut -- Oprah Winfrey as the main drawing card, about 18,000 people jammed into the cavernous HyVee Center here -- an appearance you can read more about in our Web coverage today and in Sunday's print editions.

But it's worth noting that Oprah's presence here this afternoon and in Cedar Rapids tonight, and then in South Carolina and New Hampshire on Sunday, could well afford Obama a breakthrough moment for his campaign. And not because Oprah leads people to make consumer choices, though there has been a lot of that.

What Oprah brought Obama was the physical presence of people so that he could make his own case. And he rose to the occasion with a forceful version of his stump speech before thousands of people, many of whom entered undecided or backing other candidates.

For all the importance of the Iowa caucuses in setting the course of both parties' nomination fights, they are rather small events. In 2004, about 122,000 Democrats caucused in 1,781 precincts, an average of 68 Democrats per precinct. So come caucus night, the addition of just a handful of supporters in a single precinct here can turn it for a candidate -- especially in a race that polls show as a statistical tie among Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards.

And you can't overlook the gender effects. Oprah's audience -- as was the audience at the event today -- is largely female, a demographic that Hillary Clinton has been claiming as her own. That the Oprah seal of approval is on Obama's forehead, and not Clinton's, could shift some Iowa women, who tend to caucus at higher rates than men, from the "C" column to the "O" column.   

So for all the rock concert atmosphere that ended here a few minutes ago -- it included a local R&B band made up of public school music teachers -- the most significant aspect is that this event and tonight's will put Obama in front of an estimated 33,000 people, according to the campaign. That's more than a fourth of the total Democratic turnout on caucus night four years ago.

The challenge for Obama is to convert the Oprah-generated enthusiasm in those crowds into political support come Jan. 3. Never mind Oprah's refrigerators. She just gave her fellow Chicagoan the gift of a golden opportunity.

-- Scott Martelle

Comments

[Ronald Loui]

what the? Opportunity? Because Oprah and Obama are big O's and we must alliterate? Or because someone has to GIVE this man an opportunity? Like his candidacy is some kind of affirmative action? The article itself is well written and insightful, but whatever editor decided to attach the O angle onto the O&O show is a bad, bad person.

I don't care whom Oprah endorses, and I think she's benefitting more from Obama's acquiescence than he is from her disquiescence. But it's the Constitution of the United States that give us the opportunity of having Barack Obama as a candidate for the Presidency. It's his amazing ability to diagnose a national problem and speak intelligently about how it might be addressed that puts him on stages in front of 20,000 and 50,000 people at a time, and this is what has created further opportunity for him to be heard.

OK, he's no Bobby Kennedy. But in some ways, Bobby Kennedy was no Barack Obama.

I understand that the writer claims Oprah is giving Obama the Opportunity to be heard by a broader demographic. Sure, but the subtext is a bit suspicious. There's no affirmative action in being Harvard Law Review president, no affirmative action in having 65% of google donors, 56% of Harvard donors, 54% of church donors, and 53% of military donors give you money to run your campaign. If anything, Obama has TAKEN the opportunities that have come his way, whether they were GIVEN or not. Past success has begotten considerable more opportunities. This is the kind of man you want on your team, and in any other job context, you'd have to PAY him for the opportunity to access his skills, not GIVE him the opportunity to have the job.

[InVA]

Oprah, Thank you for supporting and endorsing Obama. Americans are a smart people and they know who is the right candidate. However it is interesting to see if other people also support your views or not.
We need somebody who can bring this great country together, who can bridge the divides; the rich and poor divide, the red and blue divide, conservatives and liberal divides.
I am an independent and I have not heard the message of HOPE from any other candidate so far. Maybe Mitt came close to it. I love it when Barack says ": I want to be the President of ALL Americans". Oprah, thank you for your efforts. Barack is the way to go. We do not need somebody who polarizes this country. We need somebody who can heal this country, be strong on defense, help the economy, take care of our veterans. Thank you Oprah for sharing your views with us.

[Sue Rhodes Calhoun]

I'm somehow uncomfortable with Oprah Winfrey endorsing Barack Obama, or any political candidate. It's probably a fine distinction but , is she first a celebrity, or a member of the media? If her primary function is media, and hosting a talk show and publishing a magazine would seem to indicate that is so, is it proper to endorse a candidate? Would Katie Couric? Or Diane Sawyer? Does Barbara Walters? Matt Lauer? Did Walter Cronkite?

[eNews Reference]

I think the O' Factor will have a huge impact. If nothing else it will keep Hillary's attack at bay...this will give Obama much needed time to mobilize his base and raise the crucial dollars for ad down the stretch.

[eNews Reference]

I think Oprah gives Obama the gift of holding back the Clinton attack machine...

[Maj]

Would Barack Obama be comfortable sitting in a position that he gained due to the endosement of Miss Winfrey? Do Americans really vote for a celebrity instead of the person capable of doing the job? After your last President I think you should at least vote for the most intelligent person!!!

[heather f]

I like Oprah, when she talks about a new face cream that really works!

She does have a better talk show than most and has good intentions to help the masses who have the time to watch television mid-day. She has been a popular icon for quite a few years and whatever item or book she endorses, gets an immediate boost. She is clearly a formula straight out of Madison Ave. Selling a person, an idea of a person, and a presidential candidate at that might, in the eyes of many still follow the same rules. A great spokesperson and a well packaged product.

However, coming out of the last seven years, all Americans have seen the direct effect of a big mistake running the White House, the country and disturbing (not quite destroyed yet) what had been built up by more than a century of great American success around the world. We have seen, republican, democrat and other, the consequences of a highly "packaged" president, scripted behind closed doors. History has been made, after all the efforts of others, however, on the regratable moments when the president has gone out on a limb relying purly on his own witts, based on his own convictions.

It is almost too easy to be a Bush basher. Everyone in this country agrees how detrimental and empty our current president is, which explains the search of New Brands to try: First woman, first african american, first hispanic, first mormon... The next logical step, ONLY if we take the low road of the American couch-potato mentallity, would take us to the door steps of the Oprah Show. Tell us Oprah the new way to organize our messy closets, what new book to read that gives meaning to our lives, what new diet to try to loose weight, again and again and again...

BUT PLEASE Oprah,
just stick to the face cream, be quiet for once, and show some respect for the American voter.

[OA]

Simply put, would Oprah be pushing and stumping for Obama if he wasn't black?

[Bob OLary]

One element of this three state odyssey of Obama/Winfrey was the marked, noticeable change in speech, syntax, and voice inflection that was evident to me as they moved from Iowa, to New Hampshire, to South Carolina. Did no one else notice this change in vernacular as they migrated south?

It was almost as funny (and odd) as seeing Mr. Obama dancing with Ellen DeGeneres!

Bob O'Lary

[Elizabeth Moore]

This is a comment to Ms.Oprah Winfrey and President Obama

You both state that you are here to help persons that are having problems with the economy. I know that the situation is bad but there are some persons that have experience in the work industry more than 20 years. And for some reason no one is willing to just grant and interview. I have lost my job my home and the only thing now is to go to see god. At this time no one can help. There is always nothing. Even if you or anyone else should read this no one cares.

Thanks

Elizabeth