Des Moines Register editorial on "The Oprah Factor"

No one should underestimate the power of Oprah Winfrey. She's taken unknown therapists and entrepreneurs and authors and catapulted them
to fame and fortune. She has shown over and over that she has the power to make nobodies into somebodies.

Now we'll see what she can do for a person who is already "somebody": Barack Obama.

She has endorsed the Illinois Democrat for president, held a fundraiser for him and will be campaigning on his behalf in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids on Dec. 8.



With millions of fans herself, will she have any impact?

In September, the Pew Research Center reported results from a poll that found 15 percent of respondents said Winfrey's endorsement would make them more likely to vote for Obama and 15 percent said less likely. (That's about the same influence - not much - as a newspaper endorsement would have, the survey found.) But 60 percent thought her support would help Obama's candidacy.

"While political endorsements generally have little impact on voter preferences, there is no telling whether Winfrey can do for Obama what she has done for the countless books and products she's endorsed over the years," according to Pew.

The research did identify African-Americans and women as "most likely to be influenced by Winfrey's opinion."

Those are two groups Obama - and any candidate for that matter - would be thrilled to win over.

One likes to think that come caucus night, practical-minded Iowans will be immune to the sway of celebrity. But Dec. 8? That's a different story.