O No: Oprah is a no show

Not so much oh no, more a case of no 'O'. Felicity Spector blogs on the latest twist in the Obama campaign.

One of Barack Obama's most prominent celebrity supporters has been mysteriously absent from his side.

In the run up to Super Tuesday back in February, Oprah Winfrey helped whip up the crowds and attract an even wider range of people to the Obama campaign. But there's been no sign of her since.

Naturally America's biggest talk show host is busy filming her numerous shows, and hosting the likes of Tom Cruise on her eponymous couch.

But, as Obama struggles to get beyond the controversy over his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, Newsweek reveals that Oprah herself attended Wright's Chicago church, some twenty years ago. Drawn in by its work with poor communities, the magazine claims Winfrey was "never comfortable" with Wright's sermons.

Officially she won't say why she left the church, but with a multi-million pound career at stake, it would be understandable if she wanted to keep her distance.

But the real question for Obama is not who is seen by his side, indeed he's trying hard to become more 'man of the people' than man with Hollywood friends. He may have scraped a narrow win in the Guam primary, by just seven votes, but Tuesday's far more important contests in Indiana and North Carolina will show just how far the Wright affair is continuing to affect his standing.

Fundamentally, the whole controversy has become a way of making the campaign all about race, the very last thing Obama needs as white voters continue to flock to Hillary Clinton's side.

This was a man whose huge popular appeal meant he was a black politician who transcended race; the young white college kids of Iowa who chanted his name represented a huge breakthrough.

But it was bound to be harder to reach out to the vast swathes of blue collar voters across Middle America. Now his differences, both racial, and class, are being thrust in their faces day after day.

So, there's a change in the Obama campaign strategy. Away from the rhetorical flourishes and the mass rallies, instead he's rolling up his sleeves, talking quietly with small groups, bringing out his wife Michelle to tout her ordinary background and her empathy with regular people's concerns.

Yesterday's speech in Indianapolis warmed to the theme as he laid into Hillary Clinton's plans for a gas tax holiday, "Only in Washington can you get away with calling someone out of touch when you're the one who thinks that thirty cents a day is enough to help people who are struggling".

He's the anti-establishment candidate again, the "black guy from Hawaii who started his career on the streets of Chicago..."

So far, opinion polls show it's a message that isn't filtering through to working class voters. Their support could even propel Clinton to victory in Indiana and a stronger showing than expected in North Carolina.

Interestingly, as Obama's popular ratings fall, he seems to be attracting more super delegates to his cause. But they're the ones who don't want to see the Democratic party fatally divided and the final decision left to be fought over at the convention.

In the end, the party hierarchy might want this contest all tied up for good, but it's the voters, as ever, who are keeping everyone guessing.

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