Discarded: What impact will Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Barack Obama have on her career?

issue discarded

this issue is dead...discard

no...it's not

I dunno. Her "happy dance" when he got the nomination made headlines, but  I think this issue is less than fresh.

Is this issue still worth putting up for debate?

No long term effect at all.

Brian is being so Obama here... using Oprah for his own benefit and then shooting her down... cold man... cold!

garbage

I give it the old .  

I'm fine with issues that are hotly debated even though they might not garner much pubfig evidence! Let's do it, with gethro's suggested stands.

A lot of people believe she took somewhat of a nose dive in popularity / likeability (which a related poll recently showed) as a result of her openly campaigning for Obama... her career is based on being a popular personality and staying neutral on issues such as politics, religion, etc.

The main reason I'm pushing for this issue is because I think that the general public is enjoying this debate on other sites, and it would be nice for us to cover it, too. We might not find a lot of PF opinion here at the moment, but that shouldn't be the only reason to approve a hotly debated topic, right? (PS: I promise not to use that argument TOO frequently )

it seems like it'd be something more for users to chime in on, but that's enough.

what'd the positions be?

pos

neg

no effect

Do people really believe this will hurt her career?

Though it's certainly being discussed, it seems that not many people are taking actual stands pro or con. Lots of speculation...

And from the LA Times:

A surprise: Oprah pays a real cost for supporting Barack Obama

(UPDATE: This Ticket item has aroused so much interest, traffic and hundreds of comments that a new one will be published Thursday morning. Please check back here then. After you've read this item and are ready to go to the new one, just click Top of the Ticket atop this page. Thanks for reading.)

Looks like people are really heated on this debate...

A very recent Politico article discusses this topic:

To be sure, Oprah remains one of the most popular figures in America, but recent data suggest her popularity has eroded. One possible explanation for this decline is that her endorsement of Obama and her support for him may have done more to damage impressions of her than to strengthen support for Obama. Then again, Obama may become the next president of the United States, and he may feel he has Oprah partly to thank for going out on a limb for him — not a bad situation for the talk show queen.

Still, a lesson celebrities may extract is that political endorsements carry the risk of alienating fans, often without the reward of considerably boosting support for the candidate. While celebrities are certainly entitled to express their political beliefs — just like every other American — it is possible that the public prefers high-profile entertainment personalities to stay on the tube and off the stump.

Here's another, from David Carr (NYT).

Here's an article from The New York Sun that discusses this topic.

Interesting! I think a lot of people might have opinions on this (not necessarily public figures, but...)

eh, I think there's something out there, especially in the long term. I  like it.

If there is a legitimate debate, then lets do it.  I just don't see it producing much evidence. If you can prove me wrong that would be great.

Also, the Thursday episode of CNN's "The Situation Room" discussed the negative backlash Oprah is facing from fans.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Well, keep in mind, Wolf, these fans were commenting online. And let's face it, people just let it all out, sometimes in the heat of the moment. But their comments are telling about how many Americans feel about African Americans, even those popular among all races.

Chicago Tribune article suggests that Oprah may face backlash for endorsing a candidate. Could this move have been very risky for her?