Oprah & Hillary—No Last Names Necessary

The gladiators have moved into the amphitheatre. And who would have guessed such a spectacle would debut in Des Moines, Iowa, on a Saturday afternoon nearly a year before the presidential election? The prize, in this Democratic Party showdown, is the woman voter.

How extraordinary that we should find ourselves—as a whole—so desirable. Not since 1984, when Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale chose Queens Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro to be his vice president, have women been so front and center. In elections since, we’ve had to be either a "soccer mom" or a "security mom" for the candidates or the media to concern themselves with us.

Not so this year. Every woman, every age, every color—our vote counts. Or could. We're being paid close attention—and perhaps many of the 35 million of us who didn't vote in 2004, many of us single women, will be enchanted by the attention. Already women who've never engaged in the political process are suddenly in: take Oprah Winfrey, for example. Over the weekend she drew crowds as large as 30,000 people—out of her self-described “pew”— mixing it up in the presidential rumble.

Oprah, who in many a poll has been deemed popular enough herself to run for president, instead made her first political appearance during her illustrious and powerful career stumping for a candidate: fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama. There were more than 18,000 cheering people packed into Hy-Vee Hall Saturday afternoon to hear Oprah, in not so subtle terms, take on Hillary Clinton. Buoyed by a Newsweek poll that put Obama ahead of Clinton in the Iowa caucuses, 35 to 29, Obama supporters were euphoric.

In a stem-winding speech she told the assemblage to vote Obama if they "don't want to re-invent the same reality. . . . If you continue to do the same thing over and over, you get the same result. Dream America anew again by supporting Barack Obama!"

If there were doubts that she was referring to a Clinton family intended second-act, she turned to the subject of Iraq, and, elongating the "o's" in “long,” said Obama, "looong before others, with clarity and conviction was against this war in Iraq!" She also declared, “The amount of time you spend in Washington means nothing unless you are accountable for the judgment you made,” a clear reference to Clinton's recent assertions that Obama came up wanting in the experience department.

All eyes are watching to see if the Oprah effect—magic in publishing and merchandising—will work in politics. Oprah referred to it herself, insisting that she knows the difference between a book club, a refrigerator "and this critical moment in our nation's history."

For viewers watching live coverage on CNN Saturday, the initial results were mixed: Obama spent so much time gushing over Oprah, that the cameras cut away before he got to any substance in his speech, and some left the auditorium when Oprah sat down. Too bad for his campaign that those moments were squandered. But 10,000 more in Cedar Rapids, and another 10,000 in Manchester, New Hampshire, came out to see the duo.

On Sunday, the Oprah/Obama juggernaut moved to the crucial state of South Carolina, where African Americans number more than half of the registered Democratic voters—and Obama and Clinton are desperate to enlist the women of color. When the first venue in Columbia oversold, the Obama folks moved to Williams Brice football stadium, which holds 80,000 people. A respectable 29,000 plus showed up—and emitted deafening roars to references to Dr. Martin Luther King. "Dr. King dreamed a dream. But we don't have to just dream the dream anymore," Winfrey said. "We get to vote that dream into reality."

According to a McClatchy poll released on Sunday, Obama has moved up to almost tie Hillary Clinton in South Carolina—25 to 28. Without question some minds were changed this weekend—how many, and if permanently will be the ultimate test of the celebrity “factor.”

The celebrity “caution" is raised for Hillary Clinton, too—much concern has been expressed about her being overshadowed by Bill. On this weekend, when everyone was overshadowed by Oprah, Clinton campaigned in four Iowa cities with her daughter and mother by her side, spanning the generations of women suddenly of interest in the electoral process.

So, at least temporarily, fighting each other over turf, two of the most famous and powerful women in the world. One a would-be president. The other a would-be president-maker. As they used to say in television, stay tuned.

After this clash of the gladiators, issues, I'm sure are next on the candidates'—and the media's—agenda.