COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AFP) - Talk show host and pop culture kingmaker Oprah Winfrey stumped a second day for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama Sunday, bring showbiz buzz to the campaign trail.
Fans of Winfrey and Obama lined up outside the 80,000-seat University of South Carolina football stadium before dawn to catch a glimpse of their heroes.
"Obama says what he means and means what he says," said Theodora King-Gunn, a retiree whose T-shirt bore the faces of Obama and Oprah, as the chat show queen is known to her fans. "I think he would make a great president and with Oprah behind him, he cant lose."
The power of Winfreys endorsement is unclear, but she has a track record of turning unknown authors into blockbuster best-sellers when their books are mentioned on her program.
Her Obama-backing road show comes just as polls show him closing front-runner Hillary Clintons lead, and even surpassing her in some early voting states.
A McClatchy/MSNBC poll published Sunday showed Clinton leading Obama 28 percent to 25 percent with third-place John Edwards earning 18 percent in South Carolina, where Democrats vote January 23.
Winfrey is on a three-state tour for Obama, but in South Carolina, where 50 percent of the Democratic voters are African-American, Winfreys backing is seen as key.
Oprahs endorsement, "has an impact," said Mina Nelson. "It is 50 percent of the reason I am here today. "Shes done a lot for a lot of people and she is one of the most influential people in the United States."
But others lined up for the event were not so convinced of Winfreys influence.
"Dont get me wrong, I absolutely adore Oprah, shes one of my heroes. However, it is much bigger than Oprah," said Melinda Harris-Jackson. "I just need a president I can trust."
Winfreys star power forced the campaign to switch the rally from a ticket-only event at an 18,000 seat basketball arena to the massive football stadium.
Winfrey, 53, viewed as one of the worlds most influential entertainers, is said to be the second-most admired woman in the United States -- behind former first lady Clinton, according to a recent Gallup Poll.
Winfreys afternoon television chat show attracts up to 10 million viewers, mostly women, every day. Obama hopes these viewers will help him outpace Clinton, the first woman ever with a realistic chance of winning the White House.
One of the biggest crowds so far in the 2008 race for president -- some 18,500 people according to Obamas team -- crammed into a hall Saturday in the first nominating state of Iowa to hear Winfreys first ever speech for a political candidate.
"Im here to tell you, Iowa, he is the one," Winfrey told the cheering crowd, some of whom screamed they wanted her as vice president. She urged voters to back Obamas "new vision" for the United States.
In her speech, Winfrey said Obamas stance as a candidate of change was more important than the perceived lack of political experience for which opponents such as Clinton criticize him.
"Experience in the hallways of government isnt as important to me as the experience on the pathway of life," Winfrey said, citing the first-term Illinois senators achievements outside Washington.
While Winfreys popularity might have drawn crowds, some seem more interested in her than in presidential politics. After she spoke Saturday, hundreds left, missing all or part of Obamas speech.
