Silky Supporters Seethe as Oprah Stumps with Obama

You know the fact Oprah Winfrey supports Barack Obama must be driving Mrs. Clinton crazy, but who knew how much it would set off supporters of John Edwards?

Sounds like petty whining to me.

Oprah-Obama event `publicity stunt,' black Edwards supporters say

Prominent African-American supporters of John Edwards accused Barack Obama on Friday of performing a "publicity stunt" by bringing Oprah Winfrey to South Carolina and other early presidential primary states, saying that blacks won't vote for Obama just because of his race.

Winfrey, the billionaire TV star, was scheduled to campaign with Obama in Iowa on Saturday, South Carolina on Sunday and New Hampshire on Monday.

"John Edwards has committed himself to making rural communities' infrastructure a priority rather than have a celebrity come in," said South Carolina state Rep. Leon Howard. "It's insulting for anyone to think that African-Americans are automatically onboard with Barack Obama."

Candice Tolliver, a spokeswoman for Obama, said the Illinois senator welcomes Winfrey's high-voltage support.

"Oprah has universal appeal," Tolliver said. "She's earned a tremendous amount of respect not only here in the United States, but around the globe. It's fantastic that she has endorsed Senator Obama for president."

Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend Obama's rally with Winfrey in Columbia, S.C. Demand was so high that the Obama campaign changed the venue from an 18,000-seat indoor arena to an 80,000-seat football stadium.

Meanwhile, aspiring First Lady Bill Clinton tried to blunt Oprah's impact by campaigning for his wife Friday in South Carolina.

Bill Clinton will campaign for his wife today in South Carolina - a move that could keep Hillary in the headlines in the midst of Oprah Winfrey's mega-visit to the state to stump for Barack Obama tomorrow.

The Clinton campaign insisted that the former president's last-minute visit to Charleston is not intended to combat the wave of publicity surrounding the Obama-Oprah appearance in a state where blacks could make up half of the Democratic primary voters next month. Bill Clinton has long been hugely popular with African-Americans.

"I guess he's just Christmas shopping," laughed Don Fowler, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a major force in South Carolina politics.

"I don't think for a minute Bill Clinton will be above the fold and Oprah will be below the fold, but I guess Bill Clinton can provide some return fire.

"He's still magic among Democrats."

Meanwhile, get a load of this video. Just ridiculous. Via Hot Air and Riehl World View.