Oprah to join Obama in Calif.?
Posted: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 5:38 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan
There may be only seven days between now and Feb. 5th, but don't be surprised if talk show diva, Oprah Winfrey, makes a return to the campaign trail. During a press availability on his campaign plane earlier today, Obama left open the possibility that Oprah could join him on the trail in California.
"There's nothing scheduled right now," Obama said.
But the two have been talking.
"I've been in contact with her consistently and she's open to helping out in any way she can," he added.
In Iowa, New Hampshire and especially in the state of South Carolina, Oprah's appearances with Obama stole the media spotlight for weekend as Obama, his wife, and Winfrey barnstormed the three states.
The appearances organizationally benefited the campaign, allowing them to reach thousands of voters they had never been in contact with before. In South Carolina alone, thirty thousand people showed up to see Obama appear with the talk show host. Obama's poll numbers in that state jumped after her appearance with him in early December.
Whether the talk show host can do the same for him in California or other February 5th states is a question that will linger, the campaign is tight lipped about any possible appearances. However, Oprah's appearance with Obama could help him with name recognition, women, and have more voters in general tune into his message.
Currently, Obama's campaign is struggling to match Senator Hillary Clinton's name recognition among voters in the primary states on Feb. 5th. That lack of voter knowledge was evident in the Nevada caucuses, where Clinton's name reputation and the popularity of her husband, helped her win Latino voters by a huge margin.
An appearance by Oprah could give Obama an additional boost of national exposure, but among Latinos it's questionable if Oprah could sway them. According to Nielsen ratings, only 230,000 Hispanics watch Oprah daily compared to 5.9 million Whites and 1.4 million Blacks.
So it remains in the realm of speculation, whether there will be a surprise visit from Oprah in California or another Super Tuesday state and whether or not the appearance can make a difference.
But perhaps no one knows this better than the talk show host herself, who told the crowd in Des Moines, Iowa on December 9th:
"You know, so much has been said about what my jumping into this arena does or does not bring to the table of politics. "I really don't know. I'm going to leave that all up to the pundits, who will say, 'will it be the same influence as her book club. Will it be like the 'Favorite Things' show. "I don't know about all of that. Despite all of the talk, the speculation, and the hype, I understand the difference between a book club and a free refrigerator. That was a nice refrigerator."
