WP, pg1: "Legendary communicators" Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton Bring Star Power to Iowa

Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton Bring Star Power to Iowa
Talk Show Host, Former President Back Democratic Rivals
By Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 27, 2007; Page A01


Bill Clinton will stump in Iowa this week for wife Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Oprah Winfrey also will visit the state to campaign for Barack Obama. (Stephen Chernin/AP)

DES MOINES, Nov. 26 -- Both are legendary communicators, perhaps the two greatest in their generation. Both helped build an ethic of empathy, turning the public confession into a rite of passage. Both are world-renowned -- one for being a former president, the other for a TV show usually identified just by her first name. And now, Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey are set to square off, in Iowa, campaigning for their favorite candidates.

The looming showdown between Clinton (who arrives here on Tuesday to campaign for his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton) and Winfrey (who appears in two weeks to campaign for Sen. Barack Obama), besides marking a rare collision of talent and fame on the campaign trail, is a sign of just how competitive the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses have become, especially when it comes to attracting female voters.

"They are perfect closers for this campaign that is becoming a nail-biter," said Donna Brazile, a consultant to Democratic candidate Al Gore in 2000 who is neutral in this race.

Winfrey's appearance, announced by the Obama campaign on Monday, is significant on several fronts. The talk show host had never endorsed a presidential candidate. More important, Winfrey -- ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the most powerful voices in public life, the host of the top-ranked television talk show for more than two decades with a track record of moving millions of books on her suggestion alone -- is arguably the only person capable of countering Hillary Clinton's most empathetic surrogate....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/26/AR2007112602392.html