“OPRAH HELPED TO MAKE ME PRESIDENT” SAYS BARACK OBAMA!

Wrapping up a full day of campaign fundraisers, President Obama paid tribute Friday to one of his earliest and most prominent supporters: Oprah Winfrey. 

“Just like books and skin cream,” Obama said to laughter, “when Oprah decides she likes you, then other people like you, too.”

Winfrey, the former talk show host who now owns her own network, attended a fundraiser at the Atlanta area home of actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry.

“There is my good friend, Oprah,” Obama said. “Who very early on, when I was still running, just decided that she would support this guy with a name that nobody could pronounce.”

Both Obama and Winfrey call Chicago their hometown.

More than three years after his historic election, Obama said that Winfrey is still “somebody who Michelle and I seek out in thinking about not just the day-to-day issues of the day, but trying to keep our focus on the big picture.”

“What she’s done for so many people, not just in America but around the world, is extraordinary,” Obama said. “So I just want to say thank you to Oprah.”

The Tyler Perry event capped a day of five fundraisers that Obama headlined during trips to Chicago and Atlanta.

The last two events took place at the Atlanta studio and the palatial home of Perry, whose family-oriented films and television programs have made him a major force in the entertainment world.

“I just want to thank Tyler for this event,” Obama said at the second fundraiser. “I was saying to him, when we were over at his studio, there is something about America — with all the struggles we’ve been going through and all the changes that have taken place in our history — for him to come from where he is and be who he is; for me to come from where I am and have this extraordinary privilege. ”

“It says something special about this place.” Obama added. “And for Tyler to continue to be so humble and thoughtful and generous is just a — is a testimony to him and his family. And so we are just so grateful to him and just feel blessed to see his success.”