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The New York Times
politics
Oprah in Des Moines
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Oprah Winfrey embraces Barack Obama as she campaigns
for him in Des Moines. Michelle Obama, the candidate’s wife, is at
left.
(Photo: Joshua Lott for The New York Times |
By Jeff Zeleny,
nytimes.com on the Web, December 8, 2007
DES MOINES –- “Oh my
goodness,” Oprah Winfrey said. “At last, I’m here.”
With those seven words here today, Ms. Winfrey stepped into American politics as
she has never done before, opening a three-state tour in her quest to support
the presidential bid of Senator Barack Obama.
“For the very first time in my life, I feel compelled to stand up and speak out
for the man who I believe has a new vision for America,” Ms. Winfrey said,
speaking over more than 10,000 screaming admirers. “I am not here to tell
you what to think. I am here to ask you to think -– seriously.”
As she strode onto the stage at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines,
she waved and looked momentarily taken aback by the size of the crowd, the
largest to assemble this year in a state awash in presidential politics.
From the moment she started her 17-minute address, she declared that she was
uncertain of the true power of her endorsement, saying: “I don’t know
about all that.”
“I am so tired of politics. That’s why you seldom see politicians on my
show, because we only have an hour,” Ms. Winfrey said. “When you listen to
Barack Obama, when you really hear him, you witness a very rare thing, you
witness a politician who has an ear for eloquence and a tongue dipped in the
unvarnished truth.”
Ms. Winfrey is, of course, hardly a stranger to speaking before large crowds.
But as she explained her support for Mr. Obama’s candidacy, she stood behind a
lectern, reading from prepared remarks, conceding, “I feel like I’m out of my
pew.”
“Backstage, someone asked me if I’m nervous,” Ms. Winfrey said. “You damn
right I’m nervous.”
She ticked through a list of Mr. Obama’s accomplishments, from his days as a
community organizer to a state senator to a U.S. Senator. When she hailed
his opposition to the war, “long before it was the popular thing to do,” the
crowd responded with a roar of approval.
“There are those who say that Barack Obama should wait his turn. There are
those who say that he should take a gradual approach to presidential leadership,
but none of us is God,” Ms. Winfrey said. “We don’t know what the future
holds, so we must respond to the pressures and the fortunes of history when the
moment strikes. And Iowa, I believe that moment is now.”
With that, Mr. Obama took the stage.
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