Branding a Campaign

O-Mentum - Ezra Klein

This, I think, is what a lot of critics of Oprah's support for Obama don't get--she draws the most positive kind of attention to a wide swath of the American public. When a talk show host can send Tolstoy to the top of the best-seller list through her recommendation alone then you cannot discount the kind of influence she holds. Bringing new names and faces into the primary process will probably become the most cited reason for Obama's upset win in Iowa. Oprah is not a king-maker but she does have immense influence on the American public's perception of things.