To borrow a catchphrase from another TV celebrity, next month Oprah Winfrey–who has put her money where her mouth is–will kick it up a notch. The Media Goddess has already thrown Barack Obama a lavish Hollywood party that raised $3 million for his coffers. Now she promises to stomp the campaign trail just weeks before the balloting begins, pressing the flesh in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina for her favorite candidate.
The double-O team is sure to cross paths with Mrs. and Mr. C. Since Barack routinely draws larger crowds than Hillary and his other opponents during campaign rallies, an Oprah-Obama ticket all but assures SRO gatherings, out drawing the Hillary Clinton-and-husband attraction, partially because it will be a limited engagement. Big crowds, though, don’t always count when it comes down to the ballot box. And it remains to be seen if selling Obama, the presidential candidate, will be as easy as selling Barack, the author.
So stay tuned. The show starts soon.
Meanwhile, here’s an ebonyjet.com column I wrote on September 17. What I said then holds for now. In other words, we’re still waiting. We’ll still see.
Oprah: Kingmaker
will america buy obama as her favorite thing?
Monday, September 17, 2007
By Monroe Anderson
Will Oprah's rush on Obama count when her millions of viewers go to the polls? Or will backing Barack cost the Queen-of-All-Media in viewers, readers and listeners, since the majority of them are white women, who, subconsciously or not, identify with Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner?
Even as we wait to see what gives in these waning days of white male supremacy in America, Oprah, a twofer, finds herself at odds. There lurks a danger in her double identity. As a black woman who made her fame and fortune by speaking to and for all American women, should she faithfully endorse the white female candidate over the black male challenger?
That's sure to cross the minds of some of Oprah's loyal white viewers who think of her as one of them. They may come to realize that in endorsing a liberal, black Democrat, Oprah is one herself.
Meanwhile, there are those out there who are not comfortable with the entrance of the richest, most powerful woman in America into the fray. As they see it, Oprah is politically incorrect. Complaints run rampant that Ms. O is far too powerful and influential to don the role of king maker. Why doesn't she just stick to giving away cars and making best-selling authors? She has an estimated 49 million weekly viewers. Seventy-five percent of them women, for chrissakes. What if she pulls off a Vulcan mind meld?
The notion that they are so easily influenced, lacking any interest in independent thought, will come as a surprise to Oprah's viewers who are under the impression that they're being informed, not transformed into an army of O-zombies. Then there's the still-in-effect "Carson rule." Last millennium, Johnnie Carson, the late king of late night TV, made it a practice to never publicly endorse a political candidate.
Oprah didn't go there but neither did she mince words about her support for Obama, publicly announcing that she won't have any other candidates on her show because she couldn't even feign neutrality. And, after last week's big bucks bash for Obama, we believe it.
The Queen’s fundraiser at her $50 million Montecito estate commanded asset-humbling numbers: 1,657 deep pockets and pocket books shelled out $2,300 apiece to add more than $3 million to the Illinois senator's already hefty war chest. Profiling at the double-O fundraiser (which looked more like her Legends Ball) was a gaggle of celebrities, including Sidney Poitier, director George Lucas, music producer Russell Simmons, Forrest Whitaker, Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo, Dennis Haysbert, former basketball players Bill Russell and Charles Oakley. Bebe Winnans and Stevie Wonder sang for their supper.
A Newsweek magazine poll earlier this month found that only three percent of celebrity endorsements bear any influence on voters' decisions. Celebrities from Madonna to Willie Nelson to Martin Sheen to Bon Jovi to George Clooney have all endorsed candidates, to no avail.
At the risk of stating the obvious, Oprah is different. She is no mere mortal celebrity. She possesses superpowers and skills out of this world. If Oprah is going to discuss a book on her show, bookstores automatically order extra copies. When she asked dedicated viewers to "get with the program," legions of hefty women tried to downsize. Her "favorite things" shows reduce her audience to tears. No doubt about it: when the Titan of Talk speaks, American women listen.
Still, the question remains, is selling a black presidential candidate as easy as selling a book? Time and Jet will tell. But, in the meantime, we already know this for sure: It's great to be the Queen.
Monroe Anderson is a frequent contributor to ebonyjet.com
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