Oprah for Obama

Sometime in the Iowa and New Hampshire primary campaigns, Obama went from being another candidate to being a major alternative to Hillary. I hate to raise the issue, but I think I have the answer--Oprah. Yes, I know—or I share the usual male attitude toward her show. It is an endless stream of sappy self help books, anti male rhetoric, and tips on the need to avoid bad hygiene habits by Dr. Oz. But still she has an enormous following among older women, and her support for Obama indirectly tipped the scales at the outset. How? Well, she helped turn out huge crowds, and that gave him the chance to present his message which more and more people came to like. She sold him, and he sold himself. Now the campaign is about him, his character, his readiness, and his rhetoric. Poor Hillary can not get us to focus on public policy, so she gets more frustrated and then sounds shrill.
She can't win because she and Bill are used to going bare knuckled against opponents all their careers. Now she can't do that with Obama--the people don't like her going after him. The latest New York Times poll shows him with a 54-44 margin over Clinton among all Democratic primary voters. Obama's problem is what happens when she is gone and he has to face McCain--a personable warrior who will stress national security experience and his heroic war record.