HIGHWAY 20, SOMEWHERE EAST OF SIOUX CITY AND JUST OUTSIDE OF CORRECTIONVILLE, IOWA — I asked former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack this afternoon how many viewers Oprah has in the Hawkeye State. The Democrat, who supports Sen. Hillary Clinton, knew right away I was hinting at the recent news that Oprah will be campaigning for Sen. Barack Obama here in the next month.
"I don't honestly know," Vilsack said, quickly adding that Iowa has the second-largest population of working parents in the country — 77 percent, leaving just 23 percent who would be home to watch daytime TV, presumably.
"I'm not sure who watches her. Maybe young moms, maybe people who are retired. But we have the support of most retired Democrats," he said.
Vilsack, who dropped his own White House bid earlier this year and joined the Clinton campaign, said celebrity endorsements help because they get people talking about politics, but doubted if they have major significance.
"Iowans are more interested in who their neighbor supports, who their best friend supports, who their family supports," he said. But Vilsack caught himself: "Bill Clinton is in a class by himself."
At the event in Sioux City, Vilsack told voters that Hillary Clinton will be spending a lot of time in Iowa, where "it's a very competitive race."
— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times
Comments (3)
Bill Clinton is definitely in a class by himself but he is not running for president, or is he? Lot of asymmetrical paradigms going around these days.
Posted by Larry Stone | November 25, 2007 7:39 AM
The idea that fewer people watched Oprah is a real sour note from Gov Tom Vilsack. Does Tom Vilsack really think that people of Iowa will watch a $200 concert of Barbara streisand this old greedy icon - popularly called the yentle . her endorsement will only drag Hillary clinton down but for the clintons - money talk and that is what The Streisand bring.
Posted by BIBI | November 30, 2007 3:35 PM
There may be some suprises in the Hillary race,
Dumbasses like Tim Russert try to pull sleasey
tricks against her. Our house of political Pros
won't allow this face to appear on our TVs.
Tricky jerks like him actuall help Mrs. Clinton
because they see NBC against her. This has a
a help instead of a reverse that this SOB
intends.
Tom Essex
Posted by Tom Essex | December 16, 2007 12:31 PM