O, O, it's Magic? No.

Oprah Winfrey has thrown her hat into the ring. Sort of.

Winfrey has emerged as a very public supporter of Barrack Obama in the past couple of weeks. Her media empire and friends have geared up to try and place the young whippersnapper into office despite his lack of experience and occasional zaniness. The question is, why?

The question of the United States having a black president is resoundingly when. Certainly it is likely that this is an issue Winfrey cares deeply about and she has decided to place her influence behind Obama. However, is this merely an issue of a black media figure supporting a black politician? Likely not.

Obama as a senator from Illinois has served in a position to help the Chicago based Winfrey if possible. Since Obama presently trails by a considerable margin in the polls, if he somehow emerged as a winner, this bolsters Winfrey's stature considerably. The president would be beholden to Winfrey as a result. Since Winfrey and the shirtless dancing twit are involved it is packaged as fresh and hip. Really it is old fashioned power and media politics.

Winfrey may be able to sway book sales and movie viewership, but her effect on voting is likely not going to be overwhelming. First, she backed a dud. If this was merely a question of "it is time for a black president" then Condoleeza Rice is the most qualified contender. A more seasoned Michael Steele in the future would also be a prime candidate. However it is unlikely that Winfrey could exercise influence over either of these people.

Most likely Winfrey will experience a slight backlash. Celebrities such as Winfrey gain influence because people see some of themselves in the media figure. Perception is shaped by the idea that "she is like me." Politics represents one of the most divisive issues of any democratic state and Winfrey risks alienating part of her audience. Celebrities don't understand that their audience watches them to escape stressful issues such as politics. Winfrey's audience watches her because she is not Olberman or O'Reilly. Some are Republicans and likely quite a few support Hillary Clinton (many of them because they feel "it is time for a woman president"). Once she breaks that boundary, she becomes another political hack.

Obama will get less of a bump from Winfrey than Mike Huckabee has gotten from Chuck Norris. Winfrey's touch in this case will not produce any magic.