The question was asked early on of Bill Clinton’s appearances with Senator Clinton and now Political Wire has a roundup of some early commentators who suggest it might be true for Oprah.

Howard Fineman says:

“Barack Obama couldn’t have hoped for a better endorser than Oprah. Problem was, she outshone the candidate.”

Meanwhile Craig Crawford notes:

Oprah Winfrey claimed to be nervous about her first public foray into presidential politics, but it didn’t show. Indeed, she delivers a better campaign speech than actual candidates — so much so that you have to wonder whether she might run herself some day.

I personally am reminded of the endless stream of endorsements coming out of election 2004. Sure they did not have the awesome power of the Oprah marketing machine but how many rock stars and movie gods came out for John Kerry in 2004? How about the titanic impact that was expected from Fahrenheit 911? What about the gigantic rock concerts planned and executed, the weight of those Dixie Chicks?