Posted on 04/02/2012 9:49:46 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
If patterns from 2008 are any indication, the media mogul's absence from the stump could make the president's reelection a little bit harder.
Back in the heady days of May 2007, when Oprah Winfrey endorsed Barack Obama, the future looked bright for both of them. Five years later, they've both gotten somewhat bogged down. Obama, of course, won the presidency, but inherited a nation in the throes of recession. While the economy is back on course, he still faces a tough road in his quest for reeelection.
And he'll be down one major asset: Oprah herself. That's because Winfrey's gotten sidelined too. In 2009, she announced she was leaving her outrageously popular daytime TV show to create her own cable network, but the Oprah Winfrey Network has proven to be a harder proposition than she expected. Turnover has been high, ratings have been low, and Oprah says she can't take time off to stump for the president this year.
"I actually love our president and have the utmost respect for him and that office and what it takes to be there," Winfrey said on CBS's Early Show, adding that she still backs him "100 percent." "I will not be out because I'm trying to fix a network."
So could this hurt Obama in the general election? Laugh all you want, but it's a serious question. (The Wikipedia entry for "Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Barack Obama" is disturbingly comprehensive.) In fact, political scientists Craig Garthwaite and Tim Moore set out to determine what effect her endorsement had on Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary. And guess what? It was pretty large...
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
:-) I’m a old girl. lol But this is funnier than that. My first name is Kari. Every day, on the first day of school- & sometimes aaaall year long in college, my teachers would call for KarL. And then they’d look up like “Oh”.
It’s gonna be a lot “better” laugh when they’ve gone on their merry way. (Well maybe not “merry”. Sulking &...oh wait Mooch is always sulking anyway. Meh)
Have a great night, jmac!
Thank you dear, you too.
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