The
Obama Factor: Oprah takes risks with political
endorsement
NEW
YORK (AP) -- For all the buzz about the “O Factor” —
what Oprah Winfrey can or can’t do for Barack Obama — there’s been little talk about the reverse effect.
Call
it the Obama Factor: how a talk show queen’s first
presidential endorsement might alienate her fans.
Oprah’s
audience isn’t necessarily an Obama crowd.
They
tend to be older, less educated women who are home to watch her show at 4 p.m.,
says Andra Gillespie, political science professor at
Emory.
Gillespie
says those fans are more likely to support his rival Democrat, Sen. Hillary
Clinton.
Some
Oprah watchers are expressing their disapproval at Oprah.com. “Oprah, please
don’t go around the country supporting Obama, it is a
real turn off for a lot of your fans,” one person wrote.
Another
said, “Too many people are fascinated with entertainers and actually think that
your opinion matters.”
Winfrey
has also been accused of stumping for Obama only
because he is black.
She
responded to those comments, telling Diane Sawyer, “To think that I would be
supporting someone just because of their skin would mean we haven’t moved far
from Dr. King’s speech in 1963, where he said we should be judged by the
content of our character not the color of their skin.”
Obama’s likability could be key to maintaining Winfrey’s.
If
she had chosen a more polarizing figure, there could be worse consequences,
said Marc Lamont Hill, professor of urban education and American studies at
Temple.
Hill
noted Winfrey has continued to present herself as a nonpartisan person, saying
she has voted for as many Republicans as Democrats.
At
the same time, she’s left her message happily vague.