Smooth Oprah-ator

AMARILLO: "Free speech not only lives. It rocks!" That was Oprah Winfrey's parting shot after a Texas jury declared her not liable for the lost profits of local cattlemen. The crowd responded with appropriate rowdiness. Yes, only Oprah could have come to cattle country facing a defamation trial over anti-beef remarks -- and left an adoring audience in her wake.

She did it with a diplomatic aplomb that would make Kofi Annan proud. Taping her Chicago-based show in Amarillo during the monthlong trial had everyone from the mayor's wife on down clamoring for tickets. The courtroom drama became a sideshow, and jurors would have had to be visually impaired to miss the "Amarillo Loves Oprah" T-shirts, caps and bumper stickers. The Talk Queen's spell was cast -- and when acquittal came, even David Mullin, the cattlemen's attorney, sounded like he was spilling his guts in front of a mike. "I put all my heart and my life into this," he said. "I didn't expect to lose." If only he'd watched more daytime TV.