Huge crowds line up for Obama, Winfrey

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Linda Brown is still making up her mind about Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, but she's not undecided about his most famous backer: Oprah Winfrey.

"I watch her every day," said Brown, who was one of the first in line to see Winfrey and Obama at a rally here Sunday. How much weight does Winfrey's seal of approval carry? "Quite a bit," Brown said. "She would not endorse anyone who did not share her values."

Winfrey swept through three early voting states — Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire — to whip up enthusiasm for her "favorite guy" and to woo female voters who, polls show, lean toward Hillary Rodham Clinton. She did so with her trademark style of inspiration and aspiration.

"I have stepped out of the box, that TV box I've been in, and for the first time in my life stood up for a candidate I believe can change America," she told a crowd of about 8,500 people here.

Obama responded in kind. "The more you know her, the more you love her," he said of Winfrey. "The fact that she's here standing beside me when she doesn't need the aggravation is a testament to her and her strength."

In all three states, Winfrey and Obama drew huge crowds who lined up hours in advance and chanted the campaign's slogan, "Fired up, ready to go!"

So great is Winfrey's appeal that the rally in South Carolina had to be moved from an 18,000-seat arena to a football stadium to accommodate the nearly 30,000 people who turned out Sunday.

Obama has drawn large crowds since he began campaigning last spring. But the rallies with Winfrey were by far his largest events. According to recent polls, Obama is in a struggle with Clinton in Iowa and trails her in New Hampshire.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Dick Harpootlian, former South Carolina Democratic Party chairman. "People will go back to their communities to talk about what they saw here today."

In New Hampshire, state Rep. Christine Hamm left her county Democratic Party Christmas gathering to be at the rally. "I thought if I didn't show up here I would lose all credibility with people outside New Hampshire who ask me what's going on," she said.

Despite freezing temperatures and a forecast of snow and rain, the Manchester crowd — predominantly women — began lining up more than four hours before the evening rally. Some had taken the day off work to be there.

"I'm thrilled just to be in her presence," said Vangie Collins, 48, a court worker from Nashua who has volunteered for Obama's campaign.

The fact that Winfrey is making her first political endorsement "speaks volumes to me," said Paulette Talkington, 54, from Franklin, N.H., who said she was so excited to see Winfrey she hadn't been able to sleep the night before. "I respect her stance on things."

Winfrey "did a really good job in telling about (Obama's) points, what he's really about," said Laurie Healy, 52, a teacher from Merrimack, N.H. But she's still inclined toward Clinton. "I think she just has what it takes to deal with leaders of other nations."

State Rep. Sally Kelly said Winfrey is attracting people to Obama who aren't otherwise politically involved — like her friend Carol Walczyk, 60, a beautician from Hooksett whom she brought to the rally. Walczyk loves Winfrey but isn't sold on Obama. But, says Kelly, "She's thinking about it. She wasn't thinking about it before this. This definitely appealed to a different crowd."

Contributing: Tim Smith, The Greenville (S.C.) News