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Oprah Aims to Rescue Obama

Can Oprah Winfrey elect Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States?

Already the TV talk-show queen kick-started Obama’s campaign with an October appearance on her show, in which she told her audience: "My guest today is a shining example of what is possible if you live your life with fierce hope.”

The appearance not only generated huge buzz — it catapulted Obama’s then just-released book, "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream,” to the top of the best-seller lists.

NewsMax Magazine’s special report "Obama & the Oprah Factor,” released earlier this year, first detailed how and why Oprah was putting her muscle behind the novice senator. [Editor’s Note: If you have not seen this special report "Obama & the Oprah Factor,” get it with our free offer. Go Here Now.]

Now, with polls showing Obama flagging in the race against Hillary Clinton — a recent USA Today/Gallup survey showed Clinton had widened her lead to 12 percentage points over Obama — Oprah is out to rescue him once again.

This time she is hosting a mega-fundraiser at her sprawling Santa Barbara, Calif., ranch.

In her invitation, Oprah touts the fundraiser as "the most exciting Barack Obama event of the year anywhere.”

The star-studded event is set for Sept. 8.

The gala event at Oprah’s estate is designed to rekindle support for the Illinois senator from the entertainment industry, which has contributed heavily in recent months to Hillary Clinton.

"It’s a trifecta for Obama,” Hollywood politico Rick Jacobs, who is on the invitation list, told the Los Angeles Times.

"New donors, a rarefied ball with the queen of celebrities, and a chance to glimpse the woman everyone seems to want at least for vice president. This one’s hard to top.”

Entry to the event will cost invitees $2,300, the most allowable under federal campaign laws.

Those who can raise $25,000 or more from friends and family will get to attend a VIP reception and mingle with a host of yet-to-be announced celebrities.

And for $50,000, guests can stay for a private dinner with the senator, the TV talk queen and anyone else who forks over $50,000.

Obama fundraiser Kerman Maddox said Oprah’s support will invigorate the campaign in Hollywood.

"It was a blow when Steven Spielberg endorsed Hillary,” he told the Times. "But this is a huge shot in the arm. Everyone is motivated. They don’t get any bigger than Oprah.”

Obama already enjoys the support of Hollywood moguls like David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, and California was his top donor state in the second quarter with a total take of $4.2 million.

Readers of NewsMax Magazine got an early look at Oprah’s potential influence on the presidential race.

The recent edition featuring the front-page "Obama & the Oprah Factor” story probed how her backing could go a long way in helping to elect the first African-American president.

A Zogby poll commissioned by NewsMax for the issue revealed how much power Oprah wields — an impressive 32 percent of respondents said they would vote for Oprah over Hillary Clinton to serve as president.

"There’s no doubt that Oprah could tip a close presidential election,” psychologist James Houran, co-author of the book "Celebrity Worshippers: Inside the Minds of Stargazers,” told NewsMax, "if she strongly backs one candidate.”

Just as we predicted, Oprah, the biggest figure in TV entertainment and America’s richest women, wants to be the most powerful with her friend in the Oval Office.

Rest assured Oprah will remain a powerful figure in this race.