Maria Shriver Backs Obama

Special Olympian: she was 'Queen of humanity'

(NEWSER) - At today's funeral Mass for Eunice Kennedy Shriver, daughter Maria called her a “trailblazer” who “was scary smart and not afraid to show it,” the Cape Cod Times reports. Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Joe Biden, and Arnold Schwarzenegger attended the private service for the Special Olympics founder at the Kennedy family church in Hyannis, Mass. Her only surviving brother, Sen. Ted Kennedy, was too ill to attend. More»

Which sounds an awful lot like a dig at Arnold

(NEWSER) - Maria Shriver's every word is under scrutiny these days, so this comment to Oprah during a taping yesterday of a star-studded farewell is being widely interpreted as a jab at Arnold Schwarzenegger: "You have shown love, support, wisdom, and most of all,"—and here she stops for a "big meaningful pause," according to Us Magazine —"the truth." Winfrey then squeezed her longtime friend's hand as the audience applauded. Click to read how the birth of Arnold's love child came just days after his fourth child with Maria. More»

Then-gov considered media titan to succeed Obama as senator

(NEWSER) - As Rod Blagojevich considered possible successors to Barack Obama as US senator from Illinois, he came up with one name "no one can assail": Oprah Winfrey. As the former governor's corruption trial dragged on today in Chicago, prosecutors played a tape from December 2008—after Obama confidant Valerie Jarrett had withdrawn, the Tribune reports , costing Blago what he perceived as leverage with the president-elect—of Blagojevich and an aide tossing around names. More»

(NEWSER) - Time has unveiled its latest tallying of the world’s 100 most influential people, and yes, of course, Barack Obama is on it. But the other 99 choices aren’t as obvious. Bernie Madoff makes the list, as do Rush Limbaugh, George Clooney, and 4Chan’s Moot. And as usual, Time has snagged some celebrity writers, making for some great pairings, like JK Rowling on Gordon Brown, Ashton Kutcher on the Twitter guys, and Arnold Schwarzenegger on uncle-in-law Ted Kennedy. More»

Has she helped him? And is this hurting her?

(NEWSER) - Is the mighty Oprah endorsement helping Barack Obama… or Oprah Winfrey? Kathleen Rooney, author of a book on Oprah’s Book Club, unveils five myths about the Oprah effect in the Washington Post:

1. Oprah’s viewers will do whatever she tells them. In fact Oprah’s flock is selective. They ignored her William Faulkner recommendation, and Beloved bombed at the box office.
2. Celebrity endorsements don’t matter. Oprah’s seems to. Obama says one appearance with Winfrey yielded 10,000 new volunteers.