GREAT BARACK OBAMA CARTOON

From Sean Delona:

Oprah getting backlash from some fans for Obama support

From CNN.com:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Oprah Winfrey's recent campaign swing with Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama was greeted with wild cheers and record-breaking crowds.

But some of the talk show host's fans aren't happy she's become politically outspoken, and many are sounding off on Oprah's Web site.

"Oprah," says one, "count me as tuned out for now." Another writes, "It's a real turn off for a lot of your fans." And yet another says "She has crossed a line and lost my trust completely."

But, what's especially interesting about reading Oprah's Web site is why some of those fans seem to be upset: the way she stumped for Obama, they say, seemed to pit white against black.

"I've been inspired to believe that a new vision is possible for America,"
Oprah said while on the stump with Obama in South Carolina. "Dr. King dreamed the dream, we get to vote that dream into reality."

Back on Oprah's Web site, one commenter wrote, "Winfrey has artfully begun her stump speeches alongside Obama with a negative racial tone."

And another commenter wrote, "Don't pit blacks against whites."

Interviewed on ABC's Good Morning America Wednesday, Winfrey rejected the notion she is supporting Obama merely because he is black.

"I get a little..I guess the word is 'offended,'" Winfrey said. "To think that I would be supporting someone just because of their skin would mean we haven't moved far from Dr. King's speech in 1963, where he said we should be judged by the content of our character not the color of their skin."

In another interview, Winfrey told CNN that she weighed carefully whether she should get involved in politics, wondering whether she would "lose viewers as a result."

"I made the decision that I have the right to do it as an American citizen," she said.

– CNN's Carol Costello

BARACK OBAMA ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT DRUG USE

From CNN.com:

Does a good role model talk about using illegal drugs?

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama started the debate when he admitted to a high school audience in New Hampshire that he had experimented with drugs while he was in high school.

"There were times when I got into drinking, experimenting with drugs. There was a stretch of time where I did not really apply myself," Obama said.

He added that when he left for college he realized he wasted a lot of time using drugs.

"It's not something I'm proud of," Obama said. "It was a mistake as a young man."

What a change from Bill Clinton's 1992 admission that he had smoked marijuana a time or two and didn't like it. "And I didn't inhale and didn't try it again."

"I never understood that line," Obama said, who said he did inhale marijuana when asked by a student. "The point was to inhale. That was the point."

Clinton's admission has become a cultural joke. Obama's comments? If you ask Republican rival Mitt Romney, Obama's comments were too honest.

"I think in order to leave the best possible example for our kids, we're probably wisest not to talk about our own indiscretions in great detail," Romney said.

Romney isn't alone in that belief. When George W. Bush was governor of Texas in 1999, he talked briefly about his use of alcohol, but refused to talk about other drugs because he feared kids might think what he did was "cool."

Bush said at the time, "It is irrelevant what I did 20 or 30 years ago. What's relevant is that I have learned from the mistakes that I made."

So what's a role model to do? Should he be discreet or open about past indiscretions?

According to Steve Pasierb, president of Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Obama is right on the money. Pasierb says kids are not naive; they know people in high places have experimented with drugs.

"The key is to be honest and to put it the context of saying I did this and it was a dumb choice," Pasierb said. "Obama talked about how it wasn't the right thing to do. When he got serious about his life, he left it behind. If he were to lie, I think most kids would know."

Pasierb says the worst thing to do is feed kids a story they're not likely to believe. In other words, never tell them that you tried it, but didn't inhale.

"Most kids are going to see right through that and will ask themselves, 'How could you know if you didn't like it if you didn't inhale?'" Pasierb said. "Clearly not recognizing something when you did it is probably not the best course."

Pasierb says role models and parents should not be afraid to admit they did the deed.

"Really the truth works best. You owe your kids honesty," he said. "But you don't need to tell them every little detail. You don't have to give them blow by blow."

Is talking about past drug use the best thing for a someone running for president? That's a question much harder to answer.

According to a 2007 Pew Research poll, 45 percent of Americans would be less likely to support a candidate for president who had used drugs.

Obama has to hope his honesty with kids translates in a good way to the adults deciding whether to vote for him.

OBAMA LEADING THE PACK

While the top three Democratic presidential candidates are locked in a fierce campaign battle for Iowa, one candidate is riding a new wave of support.

According to the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll released Tuesday, Sen. Barack Obama has surged to a 4 point lead over Hillary Clinton, and an 8 point lead over John Edwards.

In a survey of likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa, Obama draws support from 30 percent, compared with 26 percent for Clinton and 22 percent for former senator John Edwards. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson received 11 percent, The Washington Post reports.

RAW DATA: Click here to view poll details and charts (pdf)

And that is just one of several new polls showing the shifting contours of the political landscape.

Two other polls out Tuesday indicate a possible stronghold for GOP national frontrunner Rudy Giuliani, and another poll gives a glimpse into voters' attitudes about candidates' character.

— In a Nov. 12-14 Mason-Dixon poll of 625 regular Florida voters, a matchup between Giuliani and Democratic national frontrunner Hillary Clinton put him ahead 50-43 percent. GOP rivals Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani also were ahead of Clinton statistically, but within the poll's 4 percent margin of error.

— In a Nov. 2-12 Associated Press poll of 2,230 adults -- 1,049 Democrats, +/- 3%; 827 Republicans, +/- 3.4% -- half of Democrats said candidates' personal qualities were more important than policy positions; 42 percent said issues were more important. It was nearly opposite for Republicans: Half said issues matter most; 43 percent said personal qualities were more important.

— The AP poll also touched on candidate attractiveness (Democrats fared better than Republicans) and ... bowling. Democrats and Republicand don't agree on much, but they do here: Clinton would be the last pick on either party's bowling team.

Previous Iowa polls have shown Clinton with a single-digit lead over her opponents, with Obama and Edwards closely trailing.

Clinton, while still the clear national front-runner, leads on issues such as the Iraq war and health care and has strong support among women voters, however these factors do not appear to be translating in Iowa, where campaigning has been most intense.

While Obama has seen recent gains in the early-voting midwestern state, it remains a tight three-person race for precinct caucuses, however Obama's lead over Edwards was beyond the margin of sampling error.

The poll also asked Iowans whether they are more interested in "new direction and ideas" or "strength and experience." 55 percent said they favored new ideas and direction, compared to 33 percent who prefered experience. Among the "new direction" voters, 43 percent favor Obama and 17 percent back Clinton.

The poll showed no other Democrats receiving more than 5 percent of support.

The ABC News/Washington Post telephone poll surveyed 500 adults likely to participate in the caucuses and was conducted Nov. 14-18. The poll had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.