I always thought it was a it dangerous for Oprah to endorse Obama so enthusiastically when her auidence and market were/are so overwhlemingly white and female.  Of course, such choices are personal and to be respected.  Oprah only needs to answer to herself.  Her market's response to her endorsement and activities may, however, be what's keeping her silent.  I agree that Oprah could help Obama, but she could also damage herself.  Wright should be more like Oprah, i.e. staying silent.  Let me know what you find out, Noam.  I'm expecting the same as you are.

p.s. I think Oprah is not only more famous than Obama, but also more powerful.  Any chance she can endorse academic books?  haha!

So I don't expect to see Oprah boosting Obama any time soon. (Though, just in case, I've e-mailed the campaign to see if there are any plans for this. I'll update if necessary.)

--Noam Scheiber

Soft bigotry of low expectations. Have you ever really believed that Obama is capable of doing his own heavy-lifting? We you're not doing it at TNR you're always  looking for someone who can bail out Obama. But guess what? Wright is Obama's "problem" to take care of alone. He had the chance in his great speech to do it but he minced his words, and now the "problem" came back even bigger. The only way for Obama to deal with this would be for him to completely, fully and publicly repudiate and disown Rev. Wright. The blue-collar whites would cheer him but  the African-Americans would disown Obama in a big way in SC, which he could not lose without losing the nomination.

Rock on one side and hard on the other...In the middle is Obama and not Oprah...

Gotta protect that Q rating. That's what drives the cash flow.

As with Wright, the now-you-see-her, now-you-don't episode with Oprah should teach Young Obama that there's no such thing as a permanent friend (or a permanent enemy) in politics.

Clue for BHO: Wright is not your friend. He's your worst enemy right now, and needs to be treated accordingly.

Obama just hammered Wright: outraged, saddened, not the man he once knew, spectacle-artist, he's had enough, etc. But I don't think this goes far enough. He needs to condemn Wright as a peddler of poison, the type of person who hurts black people as much as or more than he helps them.

Just read the storyon CNN, Ralph.  Thanks for the heads up.  I agree with you; it's not enough.  the press conference is tricky. Let's see how much damage he can neutralize.  

I thought the Oprah bump was healthy in late '07 but Barack only needed pledges from the supers after early March. The lure of campaign dollars in future primaries (a slow economy, stupid) clouded the judgment in remaining states as well as the media so pulling the switch on Hillary meant kissing off tens of millions.

Barack hasn't needed the help of Oprah and this should have ended with the admission of 'not enough' for Clinton in Ohio and Texas and the trouncing in Virginia but Primary Industry Inc. was too tempting. Maybe Oprah was wise to not make remaining states more valuable. Why by lend her brand to the ratings? This Circus is making everyone money and no one can afford to see it end but Obama.

I wonder if Obama might have used his dollars more wisely and inferred that "The $40 million a month would be best spent in _____ if I was welcomed by the local leaders."  

Jeeze, the guy dumps a million bucks a day into Pennsylvania and the machine cashes the checks and then insults him. A fine way to treat the probable winner and they won't be able to jump on his coat-tails quickly enough.

"I always thought it was a it dangerous for Oprah to endorse Obama so enthusiastically when her auidence and market were/are so overwhlemingly white and female. "

Not just white and female, but white, female, and working class. It was incredibly dangerous, and if the Politico article is correct, she paid dearly.

Put another way, Oprah chose race over gender (instead of staying neutral) and so her audience paid her back.  I think she's staying put. Every so often, she learns that even her popularity has limits.

Jmkerr.  I didn't want to go as far as you did in my post, but I agree with you.  Many African-Americans I know see race as a more restricting force than gender.  Maybe Oprah feels the same.  I had two reactions to her endorsement.  I was disappointed and hoped she would remain silent.  Second, I wondered if it would hurt her businesses and stature.  Agreed.  Despite her billions, Oprah has real limitations.  I'll be interested in seeing what other big shots will let Obama fend for himself.  Wanna make any bets on DeNiro, Damon, Affleck, Clooney?  

Maybe she chose the candidate she actually likes best, rather than race or gender. Or, as my white boyfriend put it when Edwards dropped out: "OMG! How do I chose? My genitals or my skin? I don't know what to do!"

The probelm is that she had the sense to leave Wright quickly, while Obama hung out ofr 20 years. Oprah is an example of what Obama should have done and id not, so she can't help him much here.