Des Moines Register
12-08-07
Winfrey's endorsement means more than most
By ERIN CRAWFORD • REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Oprah Winfrey persuaded thousands of readers to purchase copies of the 464page translation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude."
In comparison, how hard a sell can Sen. Barack Obama for president be?
"The one thing that is undoubtedly true is she draws media attention," said
Michael Dimock, assistant director of the Pew Research Center for the People
and the Press. "Whether or not her endorsement persuades people, it does gain
visibility for Obama. It does garner interest and coverage, which is certainly a
good thing for the campaign."
Advertisement
The daytime TV powerhouse is expected to draw thousands of fans when she
sweeps through Iowa today, stopping at Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines and the U.S.
Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. Tickets are still available for the Des Moines
event, but the Cedar Rapids event was nearing capacity on Friday. Volunteers
were guaranteed tickets, and the campaign reported a steady stream of people
visiting the office during the past week and committing to volunteer hours in
exchange for the chance to see Winfrey.
A Sunday Obama rally featur ing Winfrey in South Carolina has been moved to
an 80,000-seat football stadium, and an event in New Hampshire next week will
be held in a 12,000-seat arena.
The events are scoring multiple rounds of mostly positive press coverage for
Obama. There was an initial wave of stories following Winfrey's endorsement of
Obama in May, more coverage about the Pew Research Center's study on the
effect of her endorsement, and still more stories as her appearances are booked
and held across the country.
Political insiders say celebrity endorsements are usually worthless - or, to quote
Iowa State University professor Steffan Schmidt, "worth a pitcher of warm
spit" - but the consensus on Winfrey is different.
"Oprah Winfrey is not a celebrity," Schmidt said. "She's the Mother Theresa of
celebrity, the most respected woman in America. It's a big coup for Obama."
The Pew Research Center's fall study on Oprah's endorsement showed that 60
percent of those surveyed said her support would help Obama and only 3
percent thought the endorsement would hurt him. As many as 15 percent
claimed they'd be more willing to support Obama because of Oprah's
endorsement - although the same number said they'd be less likely to support
him because of her endorsement.
"There are very few people who are as universally visible as Oprah Winfrey is
and whose good feelings span such a wide range of people," Dimock said.
Other celebs, whether a sports star (Tiger Woods), a singer (Toby Keith) or a
pundit (Bill O'Reilly), have little influence with voters, the survey showed. In many
cases, the potential for negative impact was equal to or greater than the positive
sway on voters.
But that isn't stopping other campaigns from featuring celebrities.
Actor and martial arts powerhouse Chuck Norris may not be a national
tastemaker like Oprah, but Republican Mike Huckabee's campaign said Norris'
support has drawn attention.
A humorous TV ad, in which Norris and Huckabee trade facts about one another
(An excerpt: Huckabee: "My plan to secure the border. Two words: Chuck
Norris." Norris: "Mike Huckabee's a lifelong hunter. He'll protect our Second
Amendment rights."), aired only in Iowa. But in the ad's first 24 hours online, it
drew 250,000 hits at Huckabee's Web site. Media picked up on the ad as a news
story and aired portions of it repeatedly. Norris also penned a letter, asking fans
to support the campaign financially.
"There's so much competition for attention," said Huckabee's state director, Eric
Woolson. "(Enlisting a celebrity is) one way they go, 'Oh, wow, that's something
different.' "
Actor Kal Penn, who starred in the independent drama "The Namesake" and the
pot-laced comedy "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," was in Des Moines last
weekend in an effort to bring attention to Obama's campaign. On his MySpace
Web page, Penn wrote, "I first met with Senator Obama last month during a
campaign stop in Los Angeles. I was pleasantly surprised: So many of his plans
echo the sentiments of folks I'd met all over the country - from my conservative
buddies to the liberal ones."
Other celebrities opt for safer statements. Divided We Fail, an unlikely alliance
between AARP, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the Motion Picture &
Television Fund and other groups has drawn celebrities such as Ben Affleck,
Garth Brooks, Dakota Fanning, Morgan Freeman and Reese Witherspoon to its
bipartisan campaign to draw attention to health care needs. Meanwhile, the
Lifetime Network and Queen Latifah are working together to spotlight women's
concerns. They've created a series of video spots in which women complete the
statement, "If I were president, I would ..."
"We're trying to be neutral and balanced," said Toby Graff, vice president of
public affairs for the Lifetime Network. "We're not endorsing anyone, just trying to
encourage women to get out and vote.
"We're happy to have Queen Latifah on board, someone women know and like,
and she's dedicated to using her concert tour to talk with real women along the
way."
One endorsement likely to sway some voters was that of their own state
governor - 19 percent said that would make them more likely to vote for a
candidate. But nearly the same amount, 18 percent, would be negatively
influenced by a gubernatorial endorsement.
Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Hillary Clinton supporter, questioned the
relevance of Oprah to Iowa voters in the Washington Post.
"I'm not sure who watches her. Maybe young moms, maybe people who are
retired. But we have the support of most retired Democrats," he said, referring to
Clinton's campaign.
But whether Vilsack knows it or not, Iowa is most definitely on a first-name basis
with Oprah. KCCI reports having the second-highest percentage of Winfrey
watchers in the nation.
Another former governor, Republican Terry Branstad, offered a different view.
"Iowans pride themselves on being pretty independent in their thinking and
making up their own minds and not accepting someone because someone else
recommends them," he said.
"So (endorsements are) of limited value, but certainly Oprah is someone who
does have a significant following and might be an exception."
Reporter Erin Crawford can be reached at (515) 284-8438 or
ecrawford@dmreg.com