Oprah Obama

Canada thinks Oprah was a candidate in this year's Iowa Caucuses. (See Headline: "Iowa: Obama, Oprah, Huckabee, born-agains win".) Oprah Power, and the resonance among voters of Obama's message of change plus hope, has put Obama way in front and represents a historic precedent: He is the first African-American to ever win ANY primary in the history of the United States and probably the most intelligent. But is there truth to the matter?



Oprah is broadcast during the late afternoon to a majority-female audience, mainly comprised of elderly women, stay-at-home moms, etc. It's those soccer-mom voters that are so hard to reach, tend to stray independent, and worry mostly about safety, pocketbooks, and their childrens' future.

Does such a voter enter the polling booth saying "Because Oprah's voting for him, I will too," No, I don't think so. Do they sit at home, watch her daily, read People and O Magazine and internalize their connection to her- be it from her struggles with weight, her favorite things, or here her Presidential candidate preference - YES, I believe they do. So while we may not recognize the independent thinkers these voters are and end up giving Oprah too much credit with ridiculous headlines like those above, she has clout. She is admired and respected. Her "book club" choices sell for $15 dollars more than the paper-back copy before she slaps her golden sticker to the hard-back cover, and those ladies spend it.

What's to stop them from spending their vote in the same fashion?