Will Oprah’s Fans Fall Off?

If it’s endorsed by Oprah, then it must be nothing but the best.  Her seal of approval is as good as gold.  

In 2003, Oprah brought her show to Tampa.  Florida’s Oprah fans were desperate to attend her 8-hour personal improvement seminar at the Tampa Convention Center.  Her southern fan-base admires her ability to get you to connect with your inner self.

These sentiments seem to be shared by fans across the country.  At one point, the Oprah4PeacePrize Web site quoted a fan stating that Oprah truly deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.  Talk about admiration.

Not only the founder of O Magazine and Harpo, but Oprah has aided in the fights against homeless, poverty, hunger, racial discrimination, crime, AIDS and children's welfare.  Through assistance the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, her causes have been promoted through international philanthropic trips.

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually to individuals and organizations for their humanitarian work, peace movements, human rights efforts, mediation of international conflicts, arms control and disarmament.  Although Oprah has contributed much back into the community, obtaining the Nobel Peace Prize is a hard bullet to bite.  Supporters, recognizing the challenges, hoped to garner enough support to increase Oprah’s chances in obtaining the Nobel Peace Prize.

However, more recently, Oprah fans may not be so supportive anymore.  In May of last year, Oprah announced she was endorsing Barack Obama.  Since her announcement in joining the Obama family on their campaign trail, favoritism of the media mogul seems to be fading.  By fall of last year, her favorable rating had plunged from 74% to 55%.  Her popularity suffered an overall 19% drop and for the first time, her unfavorable ratings climbed to 1 in 3.

But Oprah, who came from poverty to build a media empire and become America’s first black female billionaire, delivers a message of success through spiritual growth that has inspired near-religious fervor among her fans.  Will her down-to-earth attitude be enough to save her costly endorsement stamp and to keep her loved among the class lines of America?