SOUTH DAKOTA STRAIGHT TALK

“Forbes Magazine” reported earlier this month that Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods are number 1 and 2 on their list of the 100 most powerful and high paid celebrities.

Beyond fame and fortune both Oprah and Tiger are among the most widely admired Americans.

Sidebar – like Rudy, Hillary, and now Barack, Oprah and Tiger are on a first name basis with the World. In the World of Public Opinion that’s powerful, although it did not seem to help Hillary and Rudy.

Oprah and Tiger were certainly inspirational this past weekend.

Tiger’s historic 91 hole overtime win of the U S Open is already widely known. His 2008 Open Championship win is memorable and one for the history books. Despite his knee and playing in pain, Tiger showed his skill and more importantly the focus and will to win of a true Champion. Thomas Boswell's beautifully written article in today’s “Washington Post” details Tiger’s conquest of Torrey Pines. Truly Inspirational!

While Tiger was busy on the links on Sunday, Oprah was giving the Commencement Address at Stanford. Among her other remarks it was reported, "Money is pretty nice," she said, drawing knowing laughter from the crowd. "I like money. It's good for buying things. But having a lot of money does not automatically make one a successful person.” In her address Oprah also inspired her audience of 25,000 packed into Stanford Stadium including the 4000 graduates.

What does this have to do with the politics?

Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods have a life of accomplishment yet both are endorsing Barack Obama.

Like the two celebrities Barack is inspirational (he gives a great speech) and despite his Harvard Education and his election to the U S Senate (generally agreed without a real opponent), Barack has little record of real accomplishment.

Barack Obama started out as “the man of the people” when he won the Iowa Caucus. Through the rest of the primary and caucus season he changed his voting constituency and was victorious claiming the “McGovern Coalition. He won with a Democratic coalition of Anti War Liberals, Students, Intellectuals, the Wealthy and overwhelming African Americans. He ceded elderly men and women and the working class to Hillary who received very close to more or less than 50% of the popular vote (depending on whose spin you want to believe and which candidate you prefer).

Obama tapped into the Change theme that was easily exploited with the young that the Government is Broken and Does Not Work. Through the use of social networking that youth so easily employ, his campaign was almost naturally if not seamlessly ready made for the Inspirational Candidate.

The winds of change are a tail wind for Barack Obama.

While the winds of change and the Inspirational Zeitgeist seem to be in favor of Obama, the 2008 Presidential Election has been unpredictable. Ever since the 2006 elections (that the GOP lost in a blowout) it has been well known is that the bar would be set very high for Republicans in 2008.

In John McCain, Republicans have chosen the best possible nominee to run on the Change issue, McCain actually has a record of being a change agent. More importantly though McCain has lived a life of that is in fact Inspirational.

It is often said in Politics perception is reality. On November 4th we will see if Americans choose the Perception or the Reality.