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Oprah Winfrey threw her political support behind Barack Obama back in early May. Now that she is actually hitting the campaign trail, the question of her power to influence voters is the hot topic. In fact, right at a time when Obama needs to convince voters that he is qualified to be the leader of the country, no one is listening to what he is saying. Everyone is focused on Oprah.

Celebrity has always been an attractive window dressing for political campaigns, but not necessarily a strong influence in actual voter decision. Oprah is above celebrity, above Hollywood … she’s a media machine, with credibility. No backlash at all! Barack's campaign advisors have spent zero time sorting through the potential negatives. To underscore that point, consider that a September CBS News poll revealed that 30% of Americans felt that Oprah’s endorsement would sway voters. That’s huge, but what is of critical importance is that only 3% said that it would be a negative! That incredibly low number is what makes Oprah… well, Oprah.

No one knows this more than Oprah. Her support is a measured support. She believes in Barack Obama, but she is at great risk in her decision to actively campaign for him. While she has had Obama as a guest on her show, she will only use her TV pulpit so far. Legally, the show would be on solid ground even if it featured Obama every day. The equal-time provision of the Federal Communications Act provides exemptions to news interview shows, and the FCC has ruled that interview segments on talk shows get the same exemption. Instead, she will invite the Clintons and try to guard the treasure of her image. She won’t disparage the other candidates, nor will she try to pull voters away from the other Democratic hopefuls (she may have “voted for both Republicans and Democrats” in the past, but not this time).

Oprah’s influence on the 2008 election is most likely to be in causing some of the 50% of the eligible voters who are not participating in the political process to do so. Will they then vote for Obama? No doubt.

In an effort to give equal time to allow the candidate to be heard, here is Barack in Iowa.