O O Oprah, Sa Sa Santa

Oprah, looks like you will draw 80,000 people to your South Carolina event. I forgive you for breaking our record of 30,000 in Washington Square Park here in New York City. But we will break your record all over again come summer. We will get a million people into Central Park. That is how we will send Barack off to Denver. The idea is to sweep the country in November.

Huckabee and Obama lead pack in Iowa New York Daily News Huckabee tops Romney 39% to 17% in the Hawkeye State, according to the latest Newsweek poll. Among Democrats, Obama leads Clinton, 35% to 29%. John Edwards trails with 18% support among likely caucus-goers. High noon in Iowa: one small state, one global decisionGuardian UnlimitedPrimary dates in NH, Iowa will clash with breaksBoston GlobeBook flattens Nepal king's divine myth Times of IndiaKernels from Iowa: Oprah stumps with Obama Kansas City Star “He has an ear for eloquence and a tongue dipped in the unvarnished truth” ....... “I’m not here to tell you what to think,” she said. “I’m here to tell you to think. Seriously.” ...... the Winfrey event became the hottest ticket of the Iowa caucus season — and Obama’s most heavily attended campaign event here to date. ...... “There are people here to see Oprah. I’m a byproduct” ...... polls show Obama pulling even to Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton in nationwide surveys. In Iowa, some polls show Obama building on a slight lead over Clinton and John Edwards. ....... “Experience in the hallways of government is not as important to me as experience on the pathways of life” ..... “Backstage, someone asked, ‘Are you nervous?’ and I said, ‘You’re damned right I’m nervous.’ ” TV host Oprah gives buzz to Obama campaignAFP a rousing speech to a sea of screaming fans. ...... One of the biggest crowds so far in the 2008 race for president -- some 18,500 people according to Obama's campaign -- crammed into a hall in the early primary voting state of Iowa to hear Winfrey's first ever speech for a political candidate. ........ some of whom screamed they wanted her as vice president ...... Obama's campaign had to change the venue for Sunday's appearance from an 18,000-seat basketball arena to an 80,000-seat football stadium to accommodate the vast crowds expected. ....... the second-most admired woman in the United States -- just behind former first lady Hillary Clinton ..... One woman in the crowd fainted while Obama was on stage. He asked a paramedic who was in the audience to assist her. "This is what happens when folks get too excited for Oprah," Obama said. Oprah Backs Obama For PresidentSky NewsThe Republicans Find Their Obama New York Times Washington’s shock over Mike Huckabee’s sudden rise in the polls — he “came from nowhere” ....... the Barack Obama polling surge of days earlier, the press pack has proved an unreliable guide to election 2008 ........ Huckabee’s abrupt ascent to first place in some polling nationwide ....... Like Senator Obama, Mr. Huckabee is the youngest in his party’s field. (At 52, he’s also younger than every Democratic contender except Mr. Obama, who is 46.) ........ Both men have a history of speaking across party and racial lines. Both men possess that rarest of commodities in American public life: wit. Most important, both men aspire (not always successfully) to avoid the hyper-partisanship of the Clinton-Bush era. ......... Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Obama may be united in catching the wave of an emerging zeitgeist that is larger than either party’s ideology. An exhausted and disillusioned public may be ready for a replay of the New Frontier pitch of 1960. ......... Huckabee’s polling spike is that it occurred just after the G.O.P. YouTube debate on CNN, where Mr. Romney and Rudy Giuliani vied to spray the most spittle at illegal immigrants. ....... Next to this mean-spiritedness, Mr. Huckabee’s tone leapt off the screen. ....... Huckabee’s record on race in general (and in attracting African-American votes) is dramatically at odds with much of his party ...... portraying the black Democratic Senate candidate in Tennessee, Harold Ford Jr., as a potential despoiler of white women. ........ After effusively praising Mr. Huckabee as unique among the G.O.P. contenders, Dr. West said: “I told him, ‘You are for real.’ Black voters in Arkansas aren’t stupid. They know he’s sincere about fighting racism and poverty.” ......... rivals whose main calling cards of fear, torture and nativism have become more strident with every debate ........ South Carolina’s 2000 Republican primary was a jamboree of race-baiting that included a whispering campaign branding Senator McCain as the father of an illegitimate black child. .......... an overwhelming majority of voters of both parties not only want change but also regard “reducing the partisan fighting in government” as high on their agenda. To his surprise, Mr. Hart found that there’s even a majority (59 percent) seeking a president who would help America in “regaining respect around the world.” ......... Florida, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona ...... The huge spread in the Journal-NBC poll between an unnamed Democrat and Republican in the presidential race — 50 to 35 percent — shrank to a 1 percent lead when Mrs. Clinton was pitted against Mr. Giuliani. ......... The more polarizing and negative a candidate turns in style, the more that candidate risks playing Nixon to Mr. Obama’s Kennedy. Hillary Clinton wobbles as her backers turn to Barack Obama Times Online The presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, the Democrat frontrunner, is facing a wave of defections by supporters to Barack Obama, as an aura of “inevitability” about her nomination fades. ........ “I think Oprah can change anybody’s mind. I really do. She can draw people in and get them to listen to him,” Quarles said. ........ Former “Friends of Bill”, who served in the White House in 1990s but defected early on to Obama’s campaign, are not surprised by the drift away from Hillary. ......... Betsy Myers, a White House adviser on women’s issues - and sister of Dee-Dee Myers, Bill Clinton’s former press secretary - is now chief operating officer for Obama’s campaign and responsible for much of its organ-isational prowess. ......... Myers worked with Clinton when she was first lady. .... I was really looking for a new generation of leadership skills, away from the old control and command model ..... William Daley, Bill Clinton’s former secretary of commerce, is another prominent Obama backer ............ Among the American people there is a bit of a Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton issue. ....... she would be better suited to the job of Senate majority leader. “It would be perfect for her” ...... Clinton’s campaign staff - normally self-assured - began to wobble last week as the polls narrowed. ......... In South Carolina, the latest poll shows Obama moving into first place over Clinton by 26% to 24%. ........ Judie Reever, a state representative in New Hampshire, believes Clinton is looking vulnerable for the first time. ........ Every time I heard Obama speak, I kept saying, ‘Yes!’, and I suddenly realised he was the person I was going to support Civil Rights Icon Calls Obama Too YoungThe Associated Press "He's probably gone with more black women than Barack," Young said of former President Clinton US polls move against top election contendersTelegraph.co.uk the wide-open, $2 billion battle to elect the most powerful politician in the world ......... her 88-year-old mother, Dorothy Rodham ....... "The only other universally adored person coming to Iowa this December is Santa" ....... a fight dominated by the explosive issues of religion, terror and immigration. ...... the first time in eight decades that no incumbent president or vice-president is attempting to win the nomination; it is the most expensive in history; and it could well put the first woman, black, Italian-American, ordained minister or Mormon into the White House. ...... There's a hurricane of activity out there on the campaign trail right now ....... the first $2 billion campaign in history. ....... Clinton has one of the most formidable political organisations ever assembled. They play with broad shoulders and sharp elbows. They take no prisoners and accept no criticism. ........... "The next two or three weeks are going to be just blistering. If I'm Barack Obama, I'm thinking of what Bette Davis once said: 'Buckle up it's going to be a bumpy ride'." ........ John Zogby said: "She has probably the best name recognition of any candidate in the entire history of presidential elections - but she still only has 25 to 30 per cent support in Iowa."Oprah and Chelsea Clinton Hit Iowa Washington Post "You know I've never done this before and it feels like I'm out of my pew," Winfrey told the crowd, "I'm nervous." ....... Leading up to the speech, the Obama campaign all but ground to a halt as senior advisers in Chicago helped Winfrey prepare. Taking the stage in Des Moines, dressed in a lilac velvet suit and accompanied by the candidate's wife, Michelle, Winfrey initially appeared nervous and clutched a sheaf of papers as she spoke. But she quickly warmed to the crowd, her voice booming through the hall as she declared that "this is not a time for any of us to shrink away from a new, bold path for our country." ......... Winfrey shifted in her seat nervously as Obama piled on praise. "This is a wonderful person. We love her. I am grateful for her being here," he said, before turning towards his guest and adding, "she's embarrassed." ........ "You know, I am so tired. I'm tired of politics as usual. That's why you seldom see politicians on my show -- because I only have an hour." ....... "We need good judgment," she continued. "We need Barack Obama." ....... People began arriving hours before the 3:30 central local time appearance ....... Chelsea Clinton worked the crowd energetically afterwards with a gracious "Hi, thank you for coming," while urging people to support Clinton on Jan. 3 ....... Clinton ignored questions about the Winfrey event, turning away from the microphones to shake hands along the rope line. ........ "My feelings about Oprah and Obama are the same," Randolph said.Chelsea Clinton hits the trailBoston Globe Clinton's Mother, Daughter Hit Trail The Associated Press 88-year-old mother Dorothy Rodham and 27-year-old daughter Chelsea Clinton ....... Chelsea worked a crowd hard ..... the Clinton women went to an elementary school in Williamsburg where Clinton displayed a list prepared by schoolchildren about what the next president should do. .... "What does the next president do to help children," Clinton read from the list. "She — I like that, she — could put Band-Aids on children that are hurt." ......... the state has one of highest populations in the nation over 85. As Obama Draws Winfrey, Clinton Adds Family ValueNew York Times a second audience of about 7,000 in Cedar Rapids. ...... “It is my honor to introduce to you the first lady of television, Oprah Winfrey.” A wave of camera flashes illuminated a downtown convention center here as Ms. Winfrey entered to a thunderous roar. ........ the nation was at a critical moment in its history that required a candidate who could heal divisions and chart a new direction ......... The Obama campaign captured the names and addresses of thousands of those who attended the rallies. Those who agreed to volunteer for at least four hours over the past two weeks received premium tickets. ......... “I think Oprah is John the Baptist, leading the way for Obama to win”Clinton Team Turns Iowa Focus to WomenWashington Post "It's obvious that Obama has made some inroads with women," said one senior Clinton adviser ....... Senior Obama strategist Steve Hildebrand argued that the Clinton logic is wrong, because it is based on "the assumption that women voters are going to support Hillary Clinton because she's a woman. That's not how voters make up their minds." ........ Among women likely to vote in the Jan. 3 Democratic contest, 32 percent supported Obama, 31 supported Clinton and 19 percent supported Edwards. ....... But perhaps Clinton is not the right woman ....... the broad category of unmarried women who constitute nearly half the female electorate, just completed a survey that shows women to be motivated by Clinton's candidacy but more driven by a desire to bring about change -- which would appear to mesh with the Obama message. ........ "I'm actually surprised at myself that I'm not wholeheartedly supporting Hillary," Lux said. "It grieves me as a woman."Hillary Clinton welcome Bill's advice, and that's allBaltimore Sun Clinton says she'll welcome any advice her husband, former President Bill Clinton, would provide her if she wins the White House, but she'll be the one running things.