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O POSITIVE OR O NEGATIVE?
Mark Halperin is skeptical of the influence of Oprah's tour dates with Barack Obama, positing that they'll be attention-getters, but not vote-getters:
So yes, expect loud, rousing rallies in all three early voting states when Oprah Winfrey comes to town with her friend Barack Obama in early December, with gobs of media attention, raucous crowds, emotion and great pictures. But don't expect those events to do anything productive to allow Obama to get over the biggest hurdle standing between him and the White House. American voters are not looking for a celebrity or talk show sidekick to lead them. Obama is an intelligent and thoughtful potential President, but Winfrey's imprimatur is unlikely to convey those traits to many undecided voters.
In that respect, Winfrey's events might even be -- dare it be said -- counterproductive.
Far more important, he writes, will be events like today's foreign policy forum in which he brought out some heavyweights to back his policy proposals and experience, including folks like Bill Clinton's former national security adviser, Tony Lake. It's true that the backing of leading foreign policy thinks is more important -- for the voters who pay close (or any) attention to the candidates' foreign policy plans. But I'm guessing the overlap between those voters and the Oprah crowd is pretty small. So the idea that Oprah's endorsement -- which is less likely to drive away the foreign policy fans than the minute details of his foreign policy proposals are to draw in the Oprah lovers -- is a bad thing is at best wishful thinking. Sure, we don't want to live in a country where a talk show host has more sway than the former national security adviser, but that doesn't make it so.
--Kate Sheppard
COMMENTS (6)
I think the significance of Oprah isn't her endorsement, it's that she's a pretty effective fundraiser.
Halperin must know that cash is still pretty essential for today's presidential races.
Posted by: Jinchi | November 27, 2007 4:46 PM
"Sure, we don't want to live in a country where a talk show host has more sway than the former national security adviser, but that doesn't make it so."
Guess the fact that the Oprah and Babs endorsements are important events in Democratic circles only proves Ann Coulter's point about how Democrats would not have a chance of winning national office without women voters who vote for them.
And what kind of idiot does this Mark Halperin has to be to think that Oprah's campaigning for Obama would be counterproductive. Female voters who are going to be a big part of those who will attend and decide the Iowa Caucus will eat up her presence. Obama has got to get the nomination first and that means appealing to the kind of women voters who like, love or worship Oprah.
No one will even know or care about the foreign policy forum that Halperin thinks is much more important. Not even himself.
Posted by: Chicounsel | November 27, 2007 4:47 PM
"Guess the fact that the Oprah and Babs endorsements are important events in Democratic circles only proves Ann Coulter's point about how Democrats would not have a chance of winning national office without women voters who vote for them."
ROFLMAO.... My goodness, but how pathetic can you be these days? Have you really lost it that much?
Streisand's endorsement, of course, matters not at all, so you're wrong on the merits there. And Oprah's endorsement of, say, Huckabee, would be just as big a deal and covered just as much as her endorsement of Obama, so you're wrong on the merits there, as well.
But what's really hilarious is that both you and Coulter are being incredibly stupid, not to mention misogynistic. I could just as easily say that "Republicans would not have a chance of winning national office without men voters who vote for them." It would be just as accurate and just as stupid.
What makes your comment really stupid, though, is the implicit assumption that women voters don't really count, that they aren't real voters the way men are. This is a favorite meme of Republicans, used about gay voters, about African-American voters, about Hispanic voters, about, well, any voter that isn't a white, middle- or upper-class male.
And you know what's really funny? That each time you and the other Republican idiots trot out this meme, you alienate even more voters, which means that you're destroying your own brand!
So keep it up, boy, while we continue to laugh our assess off at your stupidity.
Posted by: PaulB | November 27, 2007 6:44 PM
Mark Halperin is seriously missing the point... Oprah's fans are exactly the women Sen. Clinton is counting on. If Oprah can convince them to consider Sen. Obama instead, it may make a difference. Oprah can convince her people to read, so she stands a good chance of getting them to listen.
Obama isn't campaigning with Oprah to give him gravitas. He's using her for outreach to a demographic that Clinton thinks she owns.
Posted by: Rachel | November 27, 2007 10:07 PM
"What makes your comment really stupid, though, is the implicit assumption that women voters don't really count, that they aren't real voters the way men are. This is a favorite meme of Republicans, used about gay voters, about African-American voters, about Hispanic voters, about, well, any voter that isn't a white, middle- or upper-class male."
Yes, but I actually don't think that's what they mean. I think that HRC's candidacy has really opened up the idea that women can vote their gender should they choose, and it gives HRC a leg up. Plenty of women will do no such thing. But some will and, frankly, it frustrates me too because I think HRC needs to go join the Republican Party and lead the Rockefeller Republican renaissance, where I will happily vote for a Democrat against her.
I think all this hot air about the women who shouldn't vote is really about how much they hate Hillary. If they thought they could pull the wool over their eyes and demagogue them into voting for Rudy Giuliani, they wouldn't have a problem with it. But if HRC does it, that's no good.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 27, 2007 11:00 PM
Oprah's campaigning will be a big plus for Obama, adding to his increasing support among women. I'm sure that Oprah will do well in her role supporting and campaigning for Obama.
She'll do even better if she gives a car to each prospective caucus and primary voter.
homer www.altara.blogspot.com.
Posted by: altara | November 28, 2007 11:17 AM