Whether these weekend polls and national surveys have any reliable data is difficult to say. But one can argue the value of the O Factor forever. The fact is that she is out there. Oprah Winfrey is taking time off from her regular life to campaign for a presidential candidate. And people are listening. They are soaking up her words, attending her rallies, and reading her quotes. People trust Oprah more than Springsteen or some other liberal celebrity trying to spark their career or get some good PR. Oprah has it all, from money and fame, to likeability and trust. Her endorsement might just do something, but we’ll never really know – even if Obama does become the next President of the United States.
More importantly than the value of the O Factor, and something that is rarely talked about, is the issue of endorsements overall. Why do Americans trust the words of a third party who they don’t know personally? Why do we allow people like Oprah to waive a magic wand and make (or even try to make) someone president? While we can embrace Oprah’s encouraging us to buy books, get in shape, and empower women to their full potential, it seems strange that her endorsement would count for such an important decision as to who we will elect as President.
Contrast Oprah’s influence over Obama’s candidacy with the credibility that former President Bill Clinton brings to his wife’s campaign. As a popular two-term President, Clinton’s endorsement of his wife says a lot about her qualification to occupy the Presidency. If one were to reverse the situation, lets say, and have former President Clinton going around stumping for the next day time talk show host, people would laugh him out of the room. Not only has his personal life been the subject of ridicule, both while elected and afterwards, but hosting talk shows has never been his area of expertise.
The Bill Clinton example brings to light another factor in celebrity endorsements, namely proximity. Hilary enjoys the presumption that in living in the White House and sharing pillow talk with the President, she gained invaluable experience in how to run the executive branch. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but the perception nonetheless persists. Oprah, on the other hand, appears to be merely a recent acquaintance of Senator Obama, and many voters may wonder what she knows about the Senator that anyone else doesn’t know.
While Oprah’s likeability is likely to rub off on Obama, who is already a likeable character, likeability and electability are two different things entirely, as the examples of Howard Dean and Al Gore have shown. Though both achieved almost rock-star status early in their campaigns, they were not seen as having the gravitas befitting the office of President.
Maybe Oprah does believe that Senator Obama is the person to lead this country in the future, but she can only base this on what she values and believes in as the direction our nation should go. But more fundamentally, the “O” factor may be symptomatic of a deeper issue: that we have become so complacent, lazy, and downright disinterested in choosing a presidential candidate that we would rather have it done for us by a media maven. But there is too much at stake to leave it to others. There is absolutely no substitute for doing our own home work in making the best decision as to whom we will elect as the next President. It is critical that Americans become more serious about all elections that will take place in ‘08’ and thereafter, and choose the kind of leadership that can guide us through the turbulent times we all know are ahead.