Oprah and Obama. Obama and Oprah.
OK, enough alliteration.
But here’s my question. With Oprah’s announcement this week that not only is she officially supporting Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, but will also campaign for him, where does that leave the other candidates?
Because isn’t a nod from Oprah the uber-endorsement? The one that lifts otherwise mid-level books into the best-seller category? The one that gets you your own syndicated television deal? So one has to wonder, what can the nod from one of the wealthiest American TV personalities give to a campaign that’s close, but not quite hitting on all cylinders according to the polls?
Or, I suppose another way to look at it is this — how does the Oprah imprimatur impact Hillary, Edwards and all the other Democrats?
While many of us are clearly happy to follow Oprah on her reading recommendations, will her first-ever official foray into the political arena solidify her position as America’s opinion maker or will it make her loving fans rebel?
It’s one thing to take her advice for which book is going to sit on our nightstands or which shows she thinks will hit with American audiences. But I have a feeling politics may be taking Oprah’s fiefdom a bit too far. This one has “backfire” written all over it. To me, it seems like Oprah is trying to take her influence a bit too far.
It’s one thing to have fund-raisers and support a candidate. But for some reason it just doesn’t feel right to have the queen of daytime TV stumping for a candidate and bestowing the official Oprah seal of approval. She knows the influence she has. And I suppose Oprah must think it’s her right and responsibility to use it for a candidate she really believes in.
But for some reason, I just can’t get over the feeling that her recommendations should stay in the bra and jean intervention categories. Her legions trust her on those things, but maybe she’s taking her influence a bit too far by designating Obama the official Oprah candidate.
So I ask you — if you read Oprah’s books and put your faith in her advice on fashion, can you make the political leap to go with her political leanings?
I am not a member of the Oprah Army, so I’m very intrigued to see how her minions react to this endorsement. I heard on Chicago NPR yesterday a small soap company saw an immediate increase in hits & sales after yesterday’s “Favorite Things” show. Will Obama come out with a new email Monday touting $1M in new money thanks to O?
Veronica | November 22nd, 2007 at 5:00 am
Have to say as a proud and faithful Oprah watcher, I’m slightly offended by the assumption that everyone who likes the Oprah show will run out and vote for her candidate. The influence that Oprah has on her viewers is much like the influence a good friend has over your actions. You don’t necessarily consider her an expert in any particular subject, but you trust her judgment enough to say, “Hmmm. Maybe I’ll go check that out.” But it doesn’t necessarily make you immediately run out and snap up every little thing she mentions. Ultimately you decide for yourself if that hand cream or that novel she suggests is something that speaks to you. All true Oprah fans know that the fundamental thing Oprah consistently espouses is the importance of being true to yourself by being a strong, independent thinker. By the way, I can’t stand Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz is starting to annoy me too…
Amy S. | November 25th, 2007 at 12:51 am
It’s one thing for her to endorse a product or a book (don’t really understand why her book endorsement counts, but she does have some cool product finds!) but my vote will have nothing to do with her and it concerns me that women are, again, being treated like sheep who can be told what to do. Surely most of us are independent thinkers who won’t choose a candidate based solely on what Oprah (or any other celebrity for that matter) thinks about them. I have a professor right now who is lobbying HARD for one of the candidates and takes a significant amount of time out of almost every class to share her opinion about the candidate. It’s odd but endearing that she cares so much.
PT-LawMom | November 26th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
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