LA Times: Oprah events in Iowa will have more people than a fourth of the caucus turnout in 2004

[TeamJordan23]

Oprah Winfrey gives Barack Obama the gift of opportunity

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.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/12/oprahbama-rocks.html

[babylonsister]

1. The gift of opportunity-yes! Nice article! nt

[Catchawave]

2. This certainly presents a challenge for Obama...

Can he rise to be what Oprah aspires him to be ?

[goclark]

3. Absolutely!

[balantz]

5. Interesting question

[jefferson_dem]

4. This is such a tremendous opportunity, presidential candidates rarely get.

I'm happy that it's been presented to the right person at the right time.

[ClarkUSA]

6. This is what politics should be about -- engaging heretofore uninterested voters to show up

Oprah deserves a lot of praise for stepping forward at this crucial time in American history -- no more pea-in-a-pod political ruling dynasties, thank you.

[babylonsister]

7. So.... pipe up/in/over!

:hi:

[creeksneakers2]

8. A great chance for Obama to show who his is

Whether the attendees are future caucus goers or just Oprah fans remains to be seen.

[sjdnb]

9. For all the totally hype and hoopla

the Obama/Oprah event generated ... btw, imo, totally unrelated to the issues, Obama's qualifications/principles, or whether or not he'd make a good President (ummm, is that still important? I forgot in the midst of this media frenzy.)

"Obama's campaign (thought they) had to change the venue for Sunday's appearance from an 18,000-seat basketball arena to an 80,000-seat football stadium to accommodate the vast crowds expected.

But, in fact, they didn't ....

"Nearly 10,000 fans of Barack showed up Saturday night according to Obama staffers."

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/12284116.html

Nearly ... 10,000

Maybe the other 70,000 aren't basing their decision on a celebrity. Gives one hope.

[MadBadger]

10. Um, do you have any idea what you are talking about?

The other event is on Sunday in SC and they had more people wanting to go than the 18000 seat arena holds.

[sjdnb]

11. Oh, so we have to endure another day of

Obama/Oprah hype? Just kill me now.

[MadBadger]

13. Um Sunday as in tomorrow/today depending on where you live.

[ripple]

12. Hype and hoopla are in the eye of the beholder

And I can almost guarantee that if YOUR candidate received an endorsement from Oprah, you would be looking at the situation from a completely different perspective. As far as I'm concerned, if Oprah can get folks interested in politics, it's a bonus for all of us, whether these voters caucus for Barack or not.

[sjdnb]

14. I can assure you that no celebrity endorsement

EVER affected my thought processes on anything.

I find the whole 'celebrity thing' - in politics or society, in general, a very disturbing, illogical, and de-evolutionary trend.

[ripple]

15. Celebreties don't have influence over me, either

But I recognize that some folks weigh their words in gold. It isn't right, it just is. I don't blame the candidates, I blame our society.

[sjdnb]

16. I blame any candidate who uses a celebrity

just to gain a few points in the polls. Especially, when that candidate's major emphasis has been on bringing change to the process.

By 'playing the celebrity card' he is only playing into the process.

[MadBadger]

17. God you must blame them all then.

[ripple]

18. Well, you don't have a democratic candidate, then.

They all have celebrity endorsements at this point, except for mike Grave, perhaps. Obama doesn't hold a "celebrity card" in exclusion of the other candidates. He just happened to pick up a bigger endorsement. It's called politcs...you win some, you lose some.

Obama IS about change, but he's still faced with the playing field as it stands today. And it's definitely stacked against him- "celebrity card" and all.

GO OBAMA!

[MadBadger]

19. I'm not sure if Biden or Dodd do

But Edwards, Clinton, Kucinich, and Richardson all do.

[JDPriestly]

20. I wonder how many Republicans came out to see Oprah?

I wonder how many of them will vote Republican in the fall of 2008 in spite of coming out to see Oprah now? It would be interesting to do some polling about whether Oprah can convince Republicans, especially Republican women, to vote Democratic.