Mark Halperin - What impact will Oprah Winfrey's endorsement have on Barack Obama's candidacy?

"Mark me down as more than a bit skeptical."

I wasn't quite sure whether this went better with the "negative" or "no impact" option.  Definitely not "positive," but the "negative" aspects in the article seem more cautious -- and are about the Winfrey events more than her endorsement per se, which is what this issue ended up being about -- so I went with "no impact."

From Time:

To win the Democratic nomination for President, Barack Obama still needs the same thing he has needed all along — for voters to see him as ready to be commander in chief by January 2009. So now the question is: Will appearing at weekend campaign rallies with Oprah Winfrey help him achieve that goal?

Mark me down as more than a bit skeptical.

Winfrey's endorsement — and her announcement that she will appear with Obama at campaign events in Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire on December 8 and 9 — helps bring the following four things to Obama: campaign cash, celebrity, excitement and big crowds.

The four things that Obama has on his own in great abundance — without Winfrey's help — are campaign cash, celebrity, excitement and big crowds.

So yes, expect loud, rousing rallies in all three early voting states when Oprah Winfrey comes to town with her friend Barack Obama in early December, with gobs of media attention, raucous crowds, emotion and great pictures. But don't expect those events to do anything productive to allow Obama to get over the biggest hurdle standing between him and the White House. American voters are not looking for a celebrity or talk show sidekick to lead them. Obama is an intelligent and thoughtful potential President, but Winfrey's imprimatur is unlikely to convey those traits to many undecided voters.

In that respect, Winfrey's events might even be — dare it be said — counterproductive.

Posted on 12/6/2007 6:30:55 PM by JennaApproved 1/5/2008 10:43 AM