The O-effect

O-bama was on O-prah last week and it's caused oh, such a great stir in the political world. Okay, maybe not a huge stir, but certainly some ripples. Though not usually active in the political world, Oprah has publicly thrown her support behind Barrack Obama, much like she does to the book of the week. The question now is whether it leads to "best seller."

An AP wire article stated that "A poll conducted in September, not long after Winfrey held a fundraiser for Obama, by the Pew Research Center found that 69 percent of respondents, or nearly seven in 10 Americans, would not be influenced by Winfrey's endorsement of a political candidate. On the other hand, 60 percent believed her support would help Obama, and only 3 percent said it would hurt him."

Calling on celebrities to campaign has always been hit or miss for candidates. In 2004, Bruce Springsteen lured 80,000 Wisconsins out to see John Kerry--a priceless voter-contact opportunity. On the other hand, a racy comment from Whoopie Goldberg during a Kerry rally caused as much damage as Springstein helped.

As former political speechwriter Marty Kaplan puts it, "celebrities are always one racy joke or DUI away from an embarrassment." Sorry Britney, no political campaigning for you today.

But many argue that Oprah is in a league of her own. Her advocacy could potentially affect over 9 million viewers and countless more through O Magazine and her website. Plus, thanks to an exemption from the equal time provision of the FCC, she can tout a politician's virtue as much and as often as she wants. (Of course, Oprah promises not to but you can see the potential power of celebrity.)

Oh, politics.