Obama made the comments while filling boxes with food and unloading turkeys at the New Horizon food pantry, soup kitchen and shelter here.

On Tuesday, the Chicago Sun-Times broke the news that Winfrey will stump for Obama in Iowa and New Hampshire. “First she’s coming to Iowa,” Mr. Obama told a man who asked him while working the crowd at an event here. Asked if Winfrey was not going to New Hampshire, Obama said, “No, no no. We’re just doing it one state at a time.”

Obama’s campaign on Tuesday was reluctant to make any more comments than the candidate, who accidently let the news out. Until Obama himself confirmed Winfrey would stump for him, the campaign had been deflecting reporters requests about whether Winfrey would hit the campaign trail. Obama did not elaborate more.

Obama, packing turkeys, vegetables and canned goods into boxes, said the family—with Secret Service agents—will eat Thanksgiving dinner at his South Side home.

I asked Obama, ‘do you cook or clean up?”

“You know I’m a cleanup guy. You know I have cooked in the past and I actually am not bad. But when you’ve got your mother in law, I can’t claim that I’m better at cooking than she is.”