For years, I've heard that Oprah has the Midas touch and anything she so much as mentions turns instantly to gold.
 

In fact, her latest favorite thing to benefit from the “Oprah effect?” Presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

New research by economics grad students at the University of Maryland found that Oprah’s endorsement resulted in a whopping 1,015,559 million votes for Obama in the primaries.
 

However, it has yet to be seen whether these votes will be enough to tip the scales for the political celebrity. As shocking as it may seem, it is possible for something with the Oprah name not to suddenly skyrocket to success.
 

While the reigning talk show queen may have the gift of gab, here are eight “great” Oprah-fied things that were just plain garbage:
 

1. “A Million Little Pieces:” One of Oprah’s most public failures, this memoir shot to the top of the best-seller list in 2005 after being chosen for the host’s popular book club. However, the Smoking Gun later discovered that the author, James Frey, had embellished many details in the supposed true account. Oprah was humiliated and gave the author a good tongue-lashing.
2. Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy: A charitable act turned very wrong when Oprah set up a school near Johannesburg for disadvantaged girls. Allegations surfaced of mistreatment and abuse of the students, tarnishing the Oprah name. The VIP herself flew to South Africa twice to meet with parents and shake up the school’s management team.
3. “Beloved:” This passion project for Oprah was anything but beloved by the public. The movie, based on Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison’s novel and starring the talk show host herself, was a box-office disaster, bringing in less than half of its $53 million budget.
4. “Oprah and Friends:” XM radio thought they would be swimming in the dough thanks to this new channel revolving around the god of daytime television. Much to their dismay, when it arrived on the air, XM actually suffered a 54 percent decrease in new subscribers. Oprah must have felt the sting considering Howard Stern’s presence on Sirius caused an impressive 138 percent increase in subscribers.
5. Dave Letterman: There was a serious clash between the daytime and late-night television hosts, though the cause of which is still unclear. The rift supposedly began over an Oprah, Uma joke Dave made, which then led to a 16-year feud. The disagreement ended when Oprah appeared on his show a few years ago, but Oprah’s inability to laugh at herself was certainly a contributing factor to the animosity.
6. Weightloss: The Oprah Winfrey show is all about you-can-do-it self-help bull**** and in today’s image-obsessed culture that often translates to diet and fitness advice. But it seems that Oprah just can’t practice what she preaches, with her yo-yoing weight a constant topic of debate. I guess it’s true what they say – those who can’t do, teach.
7. “Oprah’s Big Give:” Oprah’s latest television project had train wreck written all over it from the get-go. The show had its heart in the right place – encouraging charity and whatnot – but by mixing do-gooding with reality TV exploitation the results were ugly. Needless to say, the show will not be returning for a second season.
8. Dr. Phil – I blame Oprah for unleashing this arrogant poor-excuse-for-a-doctor upon the world. Earlier in his career, Phil was sanctioned for unethical behavior and had to pull his failed weight-loss supplements from the shelves. His latest intrusion during the Britney Spears’ intervention just showed what a self-promoting punk he really is.