Barack Obama, junior senator from Illinois and presidential candidate, passed through San Francisco last month during a three-day visit to California, the climax of which was an 'exclusive' fund-raiser at Oprah Winfrey's estate in Santa Barbara County, expected to raise around $3.5 million. Winfrey is a good friend to have, whether you're moving depilatories, novels or presidential campaigns, and Obama needs all the friends he can get: he is trailing Hillary Clinton nationally by nearly 20 per cent and is 30 points behind in California.

LRB 18 October 2007 | PDF Download