Entries Tagged 'Oprah' ↓

the Oprah angle

September 6th, 2008 — Oprah, entertainment nation, political naifs, politics

We finally get down to the good stuff.***

Jennifer Rubin sniffed out one of Sarah Palin’s most cutting remarks when she spoke before the RNC:

One of [Rubin's] favorite lines from [Palin's] speech:

My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of “personal discovery.”

Palin seems, upon further reflection, to be rather ill suited to play the role of patient/guest on the Oprah coach. She exudes confidence, refuses to whine, and emphasizes action over good intentions.

All the more reason for Oprah to invite Palin on the show—imagine the tension! the conflict! the ratings!

But that dig about Obama’s “journey of personal discovery” sounds very much like a McCain dig, not a Palin dig. It is very, very personal … and in keeping with the McCain camp’s longtime antipathy to and resentment of the Obama campaign, which I mentioned here.

No candidate has ever acted in this fashion. No one has ever campaigned in front of foreigners. He’s showing hubris and contempt for the rest of us in how he considers America fundamentally broken and he’s the solution. Messianism is usually a quality you don’t want in a president. This was always the soft underbelly of his candidacy. They’ve gotten too caught up in their own story.

Oprah, the Goddess of Infotainment, is the soft underbelly of our culture.
Soon she’s going to find out that she probably should have stayed out of politics. It’s a punishing business, and you can’t always restore your reputation with one smashing performance.

update: Posters to Oprah’s site are not happy. She released this statement:

Posted on Sep 5, 2008 10:46 AM

“The item in today’s Drudge Report is categorically untrue. There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. At the beginning of this presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates. I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over.” – Oprah Winfrey, September 5, 2008
Commenters see through this stance, and they’re disappointed in her playing favorites. Here’s a sampling:
You have Obama on not once but TWICE during this current race, openly campaigned for him on your show and we now have another “historical” candidate in this race and for this one you REFUSE to have HER on!
Oprah, you’ve had the support of women, strong conservative women who have helped to make you the huge success you’ve become. I think you owe us a show with Sarah Palin. And not after all this is over. It’s pertinent now. You know that. If your candidate is truly the best, then you have nothing to fear. But so many viewers will respect you more, if you give time to this interesting, strong, and captivating woman.
So it was just a coincidence the Obama has been on your show 2 times??? You have lost a lot of credibility with your statement Oprah and its sad to see your willing to have such a successful women on your show “until after” the election… This means your allowing Politics to run how you operate your show!!!!

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*** I love Oprah stories! My very first post, in February 2006, was (peripherally) about Oprah. I gave her an Infotainment Blip of the Month Award.

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