Oprah campaigns with Obama in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa – Oprah Winfrey put her star power behind Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday, telling an audience of thousands that she is joining the fight for the White House because she is “so tired” of the status quo in Washington.
“You know I’ve never done this before and it feels like I’m out of my pew,” Winfrey told the crowd. “I’m nervous.”
Without mentioning Obama’s chief rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, by name, Winfrey made a vigorous case against her, saying she was concerned that “if we continued to do the same things over and over and over again, I know that you get the same results.”
The dramatic appearance at a packed arena overlooking the state Capitol by the popular talk-show host helped underscore the high stakes in the nation’s first caucuses, which will be held Jan. 3. Running neck-and-neck in the polls here, Clinton and Obama are campaigning furiously, with an emphasis on women voters.
Clinging to her role as the national front-runner, Clinton scrambled to match the moment with her own advocates, bringing in her elderly mother and her daughter, Chelsea, to campaign with her for the first time. Clinton struck a low-key note, all but conceding that Obama’s high-wattage events would dominate the weekend news, and continued her efforts to get Iowans to turn out for her on caucus day.
Leading up to the speech, the Obama campaign all but ground to a halt as senior advisers in Chicago helped Winfrey prepare. Taking the stage in Des Moines dressed in a lilac velvet suit and accompanied by the candidate’s wife, Michelle, Winfrey appeared nervous at first, and clutched a sheaf of papers while she spoke. But she quickly warmed to the crowd, her voice booming through the hall as she declared that “this is not a time for any of us to shrink away from a new, bold path for our country.”
Obama appeared last, and, describing Winfrey as “someone who moves an entire nation,” acknowledged he was not the main attraction of the day. Winfrey shifted in her seat nervously as Obama piled on praise.
“This is a wonderful person. We love her. I am grateful for her being here,” he said, before turning toward his guest and adding, “She’s embarrassed.”