The "O" Factor

I'm talking about Oprah this time and her potentially huge positive effect on the Senator's campaign, both financially and culturally:

Here's one way you can measure what Oprah Winfrey's endorsement means for Democrat Barack Obama: the fund-raiser she's throwing for him Saturday at her Santa Barbara mansion will likely raise some $3 million.

But as Oprah herself noted when she explained her first-ever presidential endorsement to CNN's Larry King, money may not be biggest asset she brings.

"I think my value to him, my support of him, is probably worth more than any check that I could write," she said.

Quite right. And what's more:

"She's got not just a TV show where she reaches over 40 million viewers a week, she has a Web site ... she's got magazines ... and she's been at it for years so she's built quite, not just a fan base but a following, and that's key," said Elizabeth MacDonald, a senior editor for Forbes Magazine. "It's not just that she has viewers, people act on what she says."

With her daily talk show, Oprah can put books on the best seller list and start fashion, diet and exercise crazes. She has also been talking to, and with, Americans about the most intimate aspects of their lives.

And she got me to read Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, which surprised even me. So I don't doubt her influence.