Miss Management

Then Winfrey started campaigning with Obama.

"By the time Fox News/Opinion Dynamics asked Americans about their attitudes toward Oprah in a survey conducted about 10 days later, Dec. 18-19, Oprah's favorability ratings had dropped even further -- to 55 percent -- the lowest level of favorability ever registered for Oprah in opinion surveys."

I remember saying this plunge into politics might be something of a risk for her, but I'm surprised at those figures.

You'll recall there was a bit of hand-wringing when Hillary adviser Harold Ickes acknowledged that he was discussing the Jeremiah Wright controversy with superdelegates. My feeling is, why shouldn't the Clintonites discuss it; everyone else is. Now comes Lanny Davis, who's become the campaign's top television surrogate (as he was for Bill Clinton during the Monica mess) with this WSJ op-ed:

"I have tried to get over my unease surrounding Barack Obama's response to the sermons and writings of his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. But the unanswered questions remain.

"I am a strong supporter of and a substantial fundraiser for Hillary Clinton for president (though in this column I speak only for myself). I still believe she should and will be the Democratic nominee. But if Sen. Obama wins the nomination, he needs to understand that this issue goes well beyond Clinton partisans. Now is the time to address these questions, not later.

"Clearly Mr. Obama does not share the extremist views of Rev. Wright. He is a tolerant and honorable person. But that is not the issue. The questions remain: Why did he stay a member of the congregation? Why didn't he speak up earlier? And why did he reward Rev. Wright with a campaign position even after knowing of his comments? . . .

"If Mr. Obama doesn't show a willingness to try to answer all the questions now, John McCain and the Republican attack machine will not waste a minute pressuring him to do so if he is the Democratic Party's choice in the fall."

Not to mention the Clinton attack machine.

Time columnist Joe Klein throws a haymaker at Lanny:

"What is actually going on here? If Davis is sure that 'Mr. Obama does not share the extremist views of Rev. Wright,' then what's the big deal? Uh, Politics. Davis is trying to make sure that white people in Pennsylvania don't forget that Obama's former pastor has said some awful things about our country. This, sadly, has been standard operating procedure for Republican spinmeisters throughout that party's ascent and descent over the past 40 years."

Liberal bloggers are none too happy, including Joe Sudbay at Americablog: