COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) - Talk show host Oprah Winfrey has long been a role model for black women because of her rags-to-riches story, her status as a tastemaker and her message of self-improvement.
Now she hopes that popularity will translate into votes for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as he vies with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the support of a crucial constituency -- black voters.
In the most-hyped campaign tour of the 2008 White House race, Winfrey was to join Obama, an Illinois senator, on Sunday for a rally in South Carolina, where black voters make up around half the Democratic primary voters.
After filling an Iowa convention center on Saturday, the duo was to appear in an 80,000-capacity stadium on Sunday in Columbia, South Carolina, before moving on to the final leg of their tour in New Hampshire.
In all three early states, Oprahs fan base with women could help Obama but in South Carolina her appeal as an African American could be an added plus to a candidate running to become the countrys first black president.
"Oprah is huge," said David Woodard, of South Carolinas Clemson University. "She can draw a lot of attention to Obama but hes the real show."
Clinton has led Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards in South Carolina but her lead over Obama has narrowed in recent weeks and the black vote is considered up for grabs.
A poll of South Carolinas likely voters taken in late November showed Clinton drawing support from 19 percent of Democrats, trailed by Obama with 17 percent and Edwards with 12 percent.
But that Clemson University poll showed Clintons lead had shrunk by seven points compared to an August survey.
Some black South Carolina voters, while excited by Obama, view Clinton as more experienced and more electable in the November 2008 general election. Some polls suggest blacks may harbor more doubts than whites that the United States would elect a black president.
Clintons husband, former President Bill Clinton, has helped her court black voters because of his popularity with them. He campaigned on Saturday in Charleston for his wife.
"Mrs. Clinton seems to be dividing the African American voters with Obama," said Neal Thigpen, a political scientist at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina.
Analysts said that while Oprah may help Obama get a closer look from voters who are leaning toward Clinton or have not made up their minds, it will ultimately be up to him to make the case for his election.
"African American women would be particularly attuned to Oprah," said Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia. "What she does is attract enormous attention so he can make his pitch."
"I just dont believe anybody pushes votes into someones column," Sabato said.
(Editing by David Wiessler)
