Bringing the O to iOwa

The only bigger O in the world than Obama may be Oprah and tonight Oprah made two wonderful speeches praising Barack Obama. Living in Iowa during Caucus season can get a little overwhelming with a constant barrage of advertisements, calls, letters, and speeches. Right about now, the season starts to drag for the candidates and the Caucus participants. Tonight Oprah ignited a crowd that had most likely personally visited with numerous other candidates.

It may be a corny slogan but "HOPE" rings true through Obama’s message. What better candidate could we ask for at such dismal times? Barack Obama defines change from politics as usual and there is no candidate farther from Bush. In a time where America, through the eyes of the world, looks like an evil empire, electing Obama will show the world that Americans are looking for a new direction, away from the Bush, Clinton, Bush sludge. Many of the bloggers on Kos may see an Oprah endorsement as important as a Bill Clinton endorsement for Hillary. But what I saw tonight in Cedar Rapids, IA. was a real-self made lady, with no help of a husband or a powerful last name, creating an atmosphere where young and old ladies, boyfriends and husbands who would rather have their teeth pulled than be at an Obama rally, become engaged and swept off their feet by Michelle, Oprah, and Barack. Oprah brought thousands of people to a political event who have never involved themselves in politics. Oprah brought them there and Obama won their votes. That is Hope. Hope that Americans will become involved with politics, even if they became involved because of a celebrity. Hope that America has the opportunity to choose a candidate for president that can restore America’s image across the world and focus on our nation’s problems. Obama has the foresight to see the Iraq war as the blunder it has become and he has the integrity to lead our nation into a new, positive direction.

•  Post a tip jar

  Thanks for the diary and your inspiration.  Wish I could have been there.

  by nolalily on Sat Dec 08, 2007 at 10:39:02 PM PDT

  •  Inspiring

    When Barack opens his speeches with, "we draw people from all walks of life, black, white, Christian, Muslim, etc..." it is not just typical political hype. Iowa is a pretty homogenized state, white-Christian. Obama draws as much diversity to his speeches as he or anyone else would anywhere in America. The crowd was full of young inspired Democrats, participating in politics for the first time. Whatever drew those thousands of people to Cedar Rapids tonight, many who drove hours through snow, ice, and sleet, it does not matter. I am full of hope for our future seeing all the young participants tonight at the rally.

    by iowaworker on Sat Dec 08, 2007 at 10:51:56 PM PDT

    •  Very happy to see you posting

      Wonderful to hear people from Iowa affirming their support for Senator Obama.

      by terrapin station84 on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 12:13:14 AM PDT

      •  Great to hear from you iowaworker

        I'd love to hear even more details from you about the rally itself and the experience of being there.  Help those of us who weren't lucky enough to be there experience it through your words.  :)

        by vernonbc on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 12:17:16 AM PDT

•  I checked out some of the remarks

  Oprah made (according to someone who wrote it down, blogging while watching it on C-Span).  I was stunned to hear her say that she had voted for as many Republicans as Democrats over the years.  Weird.

  by Montague on Sat Dec 08, 2007 at 10:56:10 PM PDT

  •  I wonder if the campaign told her to say that

    The beauty of her endorsement is that unlike most celebs she has non-partisan appeal. She's seen as every woman. Democrats love her, republicans love her, independents love her. If Oprah came out as a full fledged Democrat a lot of republicans and independents may have closed their minds and Obama would be unable to benefit from the cross-over appeal Oprah can bring.  

    I know her campaign contributions have been 95% democrat and that Michael Moore begged her to run for president after she allowed him to protest the war 48 hours before it began.

    by greenboy on Sat Dec 08, 2007 at 11:05:35 PM PDT

    •  See, that's a problem in my view

      If her contributions are 95% to Democrats, why would she vote half of the time for Republicans?  Is she prevaricating, to put it kindly?  I must say this has lowered her in my eyes.

      by Montague on Sat Dec 08, 2007 at 11:10:17 PM PDT

      •  She doesn't strike me as a partisan

        with her everything is personal. Business people who've worked with Oprah say she peers into their soul. She's all about whether she can trust a person. I think she votes on an individual basis rather than a party basis. Whichever candidate strikes her as most sincere.

        by greenboy on Sat Dec 08, 2007 at 11:21:12 PM PDT

        •  Sincerity isn't the way to go

          IMO.  Arguably, Bush is a sincere guy.  I disagree with everything he wants, but I think he is sincere about at least some of it.  Lousy reason to vote for him.  The trouble with voting "for the person" (for example, Nader in 2000) is that you may be wasting your vote.  I vote for the candidate who can make the changes I want happen.  I knew Nader couldn't do that because he couldn't get elected.  Sincerity isn't the issue.

          By the way, if Oprah donates 95% Democrat, then she IS partisan.  Kudos to her for making herself into a billionaire which is certainly rare for a woman, not to mention a woman of color, but I don't especially admire her politics, nor do I take much interest in celebrity endorsements.  There may be many, however, who are swayed by her endorsement.

          by Montague on Sat Dec 08, 2007 at 11:51:10 PM PDT

          •  Oprah's a dog whistle

            Men, and many highly educated professional women, can not understand her appeal. It goes straight past them.

            But her core demo is a huge, huge force in this country and this party. And her appeal to them is beyond strong. Its not for some of us to understand it. But it would be idiotic of us not to recognize it.

            My best guess is that she sells self-help, self-betterment, and the like in everything she does. She uses her show as a teaching lever. Men don't "get" her because we don't feel there is anything to improve, we mostly think that we're ok as is, and even if we weren't, we aren't going to listen to anyone else tell us what we should be doing. But women are different. This is the market that keeps the whole genre of self-help books in print. Who was the last man you knew who bought a self-help book?

            I don't think Oprah's for everyone. But my God, that woman is obscenely good at what she does and has a deep, emotional connection to MILLIONS of women in this country.

            by CPDem81 on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 01:55:56 AM PDT

            •  I don't go for self-help books

              Never bought one in my (by now getting kinda long) life.

              I understand that Oprah has a lot of appeal.  I don't necessarily understand that appeal at the same level that her biggest fans do.

              Also, I'm a woman with a mere baccalaureate.  So I suppose I'm not your definition of highly educated, even though it might be fair to call me something of an autodidact.

              I have never watched an episode of Oprah - just snippets here and there on the internet.  Like, I couldn't pass up on the sight of Tom Cruise making an ass of himself by jumping up and down on her sofa.  

              by Montague on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 07:26:46 AM PDT

        •  Oh...Like Bush did with Putin. n/t

          by sgary on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 12:06:19 AM PDT

      •  Why wold she vote 50% Republican?

        I'd like to point out she's a billionaire and the owner of a vast business empire.  Lower taxes on the rich and corporations, less regulation of business, these things appeal to rich CEOs and they are things Republicans keep front and center.  It is a shock when billionaire CEOs don't vote Republican.

        by ActivistGuy on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 12:03:27 AM PDT

        •  Well, lemme think now

          Steve Jobs, isn't he a billionaire?  Democrat.

          Steven Spielberg.  Democrat.  (Not sure he's quite a billionaire, though.)

          George Soros.  Democrat.  Multi-billionaire.

          Tim Gill who started Quark.  Democrat.  About half a billion.

          Oddly enough, Michael Bloomberg belongs on this list, because he really is a Democrat.  He only switched because he saw a way to run and win.  But I'm displeased with him right now.

          Just because you're rich doesn't mean you have to vote based on your personal stash of cash.  You might rather vote based on your core beliefs of freedom, justice, etc.

          by Montague on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 12:12:47 AM PDT

          •  Or you might vote Democratic

            because you realize that investments in schools, infrastructure, R&D programs, etc, all help improve your business.

            Why we assume Democratic proposals are bad for business I've never understood. Thats a GOP talking point. Wealthy CEO's are vote democratic because they appreciate competence and they understand the need for a vibrant public sector.

            by CPDem81 on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 01:59:05 AM PDT

            •  I could have thrown that into

              "core beliefs."  In fact I should have.

              Voting based only on one's pocketbook is stupid even for the massively wealthy.  How much longer do they think the populace is going to put up with the situation?  America is NOT beyond the possibility of uprisings created by horrific economic imbalance.  And living in gated communities ain't gonna save the robber barons if that happens.  

              It's better to have a bit less money if it keeps the society, the one that allowed them to get rich, a little more stable, economically and politically.  It's amazing how many fools can't make that connection in their pinheads.

              by Montague on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 06:34:32 AM PDT

      •  Local Politicians

        Dems in Chicago are fairly corrupt-- or used to be, in her past.  So, I can definitely see it.

        Economic Left/Right: -8.50

        Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -8.51

        by MrrarA on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 12:14:25 AM PDT

        •  That's My Thought, Too---Anti-Machine!!!

          by serrano on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 12:47:14 AM PDT

        •  She LIVES in California, I thought

          The mansion where the Obama fundraiser was, I thought I heard Santa Barbara.

          That would account for Ahhhhhnold, which is basically 50% Repub.

          by Theghostofkarlafayetucker on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 01:36:47 AM PDT

        •  Exactly...

          There are sadly still a lot of machine Democrat hacks in this state and especially out of Chicago who are corrupt and/or incompetent and when Oprah made that statement I immediately thought of our awful Democratic governor Blagojevich and wondered if maybe Oprah voted for the Republican candidate (a pro-choice woman) instead. I know I did.

          While Oprah making that statement probably doesn't win her or Obama's campaign points with some Democrats, I think that statement gives her a lot more authenticity, definitely strikes a good note in a Midwestern audience and it also helps to explain why she was so uniquely inspired by Obama's campaign to venture into politics for the first time. It also says to Republicans in the audience who came to see  HER but not Obama that it's OK if they voted for Republicans in the past because they are welcome in the Democratic party too. Cause if we want 51 percent or more in Nov. 2008 we are going to need people who voted for Bush in 2004 to vote for our Democratic candidate.

          Thank you iowaworker for this diary.

          by modemocrat on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 01:41:54 AM PDT

          •  You are right

            Already I know a bundle of people who are quite willing to admit they voted for Bush but that they fully intend to go Democratic this time.  There are lots of people in the middle who do shift their votes back and forth.

            I'm not surprised about this.  These people are white, middle-class, and usually male.  They live pretty decent middle-class lives.  They aren't subject to belittlement due to their gender or race.  They haven't been profiled by cops.  Nobody has ever looked at them and thought "welfare queen."

            On the other hand, I'm surprised at Oprah because she is smart, female, and black.  The Republican Party has not been a party that is friendly to black women.

            by Montague on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 01:40:03 PM PDT

      •  I wondered about that too.

        But then I thought that maybe she hasn't voted very often, and her Republican votes were not actually FOR the Republican but a protest against a Democrat she considered corrupt or inept.

        by ybruti on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 08:36:32 AM PDT

    •  How True

      I was there tonight in CR, IA. You can take her appeal as a celebrity and do what you want with it. It seems more like jealousy than anything from those who want to bash her endorsement and appeal. Your candidate can have Barbra Streisand, Chuck Norris, etc. I will take Oprah any day. She had a wonderful speech that praised Obama for all the right reasons. Reasons that seperate him from the other candidates. It is not like she is out giving speeches without Obama there. She is introducing him and then he comes out and gives a speech. All three, Michelle, Oprah and Barack created a wonderful atmosphere that gave me hope for the future of America. Young kids with their mothers came out to see Oprah and left supporting Obama. There is nothing wrong with that. You know America is a great country when three African American people can draw 10s of thousands of Iowans to hear an hour long speech. Young, old, black, white, Christian, Muslim, Gay Straight, we were all there tonight to support the future of America. There were Dean supporters, Kerry supporters and I was sitting by a couple that were registered Republicans that by the end of the speech were clapping and yelling along with the fervent Democratic crowd. Amen.

      by iowaworker on Sat Dec 08, 2007 at 11:11:40 PM PDT

      •  Thanks for the report

        iowaworker.. beautiful description of the crowd.. isn't that what america is supposed to be about?

        All races,genders,creeds joining hands to build a better america?

        What a concept. A truly democratic concept, a progressive concept. With an Obama presidency, his political capital would be enormous to enact true change in america with all constituiencies across the board invested in him. Lets make this happen america.

        by Hawkjt on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 01:24:48 AM PDT

      •  Thanks for this iowaworker

        I caught the very same vibe from just watching it on TV. It was fantastic!

        by elwior on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 01:58:54 AM PDT

    •  Will she vote GOP if it's not Obama

      that gets the nomination?

      by sgary on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 12:05:25 AM PDT

  •  Illinois Governors & Everett Dirksen & Musings

    Illinois has had some fairly moderate GOP governors for much of the time Oprah has been in Chicago. Former Gov. James Thompson has donated to Hillary Clinton's campaign and Gov. Jim Edgar was pro-choice and extremely popular. Edgar and Thompson were outside the Gingrich model of partisan model of Republicanism.

    Senator Everett Dirksen (R-IL) played a key role in passing various civil rights programs while LBJ was in office and would be fondly remembered by anyone supporting civil rights in the 1960s and an Illinois Republican in the 1960s was almost always more progressive than a South Carolina Democrat.

    I think Democratic partisans make a mistake in thinking that Republicans will ALWAYS behave in the Gingrich/Delay/Rove model. I think that strain of Republicanism is almost played out and will be surely played out by 2010 if Democrats start getting results with a President Obama.

    My best guess is Republicans will morph into a populist, isolationist, anti-trade party after 2010 and the big obstacle to progressive change will be the corporate lobby within the Democratic Party, not Republicans.

    by joejoejoe on Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 03:26:26 AM PDT