Posted on 01/08/2018 11:32:55 PM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
If, that is, she is truly interested in a presidential run.
If Hillary Clinton could deliver a political speech half as effectively as Oprah Winfrey, she might be president today.
The actress, media mogul, and erstwhile queen of daytime TV gave what, if she ever becomes president, will be known to history as the Golden Globes Address. The first de facto convention speech ever delivered at an awards show, it brought down the house and predictably stoked talk of Oprah 2020, with people close to her fueling the speculation.
In the era Before Trump, this would have been risible. Once upon a time, military service, political experience, a policy portfolio, and national-security chops were mandatory to plausibly run for president. That time feels like a long time ago. Now, when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who has mused about running himself, stood and applauded Oprah’s speech, you could see the early pecking order of a potential Democratic nomination battle establishing itself (“The Rock” would be a second-tier candidate).
What Donald Trump proved is that a celebrity with charisma, performative ability, and gobs of free media can, in the right circumstances, stomp conventional politicians who lack all three. People who were merely governors and senators, who had never really performed on a big stage or truly mastered the media (they were just politicians, after all), stood at a distinct disadvantage.
It’s very easy to see Oprah Winfrey doing to the likes of New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand what Donald Trump did to the likes of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker.
A common cold-water argument against Oprah running is that Democrats will want the opposite of Trump in 2020, an experienced, boring politico who’s well versed in the issues and a reliably competent executive. This line works on paper. Republicans said the same thing about Barack Obama, who prior to 2008 had come as close to genuine celebrityhood as a working politician can get. Yet Donald Trump succeeded where the worthy, earnest, managerial Mitt Romney failed.
On the current trajectory, what Democrats will most need in 2020 is someone with a big enough personality that Trump can’t diminish and negatively brand him or her. This is what he did with the rest of the Republican field and Hillary Clinton in 2016, and he easily could do the same against “Pocahontas,” aka Elizabeth Warren, and “Crazy Bernie” Sanders.
Oprah, used to commanding a massive microphone and managing a matchless brand, might be relatively immune to this treatment. She could try Obama’s tack of running to the left substantively and to the center stylistically. She’d be the empathetic healer, the advocate of abused women, running to make history in the shadow of the civil-rights movement.
If, that is, she’s truly interested. Even the best campaigns have down cycles and bring humiliations of the sort celebrities usually avoid. Why would Oprah, who at the moment never has to encounter anyone who isn’t in awe of her, want to sign up for that?
Half the country would, by definition, begin to dislike her. She would have to fight with that part of the Democratic base committed to Bernie Sanders and suspicious of her as a Hollywood billionaire. She’d experience something that she’s never truly had to encounter: negative press.
For the first time, she wouldn’t be completely in control of her own image. She’d have to answer for her promotion of kooky products and theories over the years, and open up more about a private life that has been almost entirely shielded from public view.
If you believe Michael Wolff, Trump conceived of a presidential run as a way, if all else failed, to enhance his brand. Oprah’s brand needs no such enhancing. If she ran and lost, she’d become a failed presidential candidate and could presumably never quite return to being Oprah Winfrey again.
In short, there are compelling reasons for her not to make the plunge. The inherent absurdity of the idea is not one of them.
Rich Lowry.
Someone whose opinion I used to care about.
She’s given a lot more credit than she deserves. She is/was a project by the leadership of ABC, years ago, when they needed a person to fill the time slot. As her audience of bored, white, liberal, stay at home, soccer moms expanded, mostly because there was no one else on in that time slot, her show grew. To this day, her audience is still the same, white housewives.
Word on the street is that she’s pretty much, a bonafide racist. The MSM will do their best to hide that, but they won’t be able to. The Left, will not care, as long as one of theirs gets in.
If she does run, I’ll actually look forward to the debates. At which time she’ll revert to a mode where she thinks she’s interviewing an adoring guest, and screw up, or go straight ghetto when The Donald starts crushing her. She won’t be interviewing Tom Cruise jumping all the couch like a dumbass.
News skitching: to attach oneself to the daily meme for lack of independent, constructive journalism.
If you look at some of the other posts today, you will see that the never-Trumpers at National Review (S/B National Disgrace) are out in force touting Oprah.
Naw, I’m good.
It’s not that big of a stretch to go from Trump to Oprah.
“News skitching: to attach oneself to the daily meme for lack of independent, constructive journalism.”
Thanks. I never heard that term before.
The logic of the liberal press is:
1) Trump got elected because the public knew him as a celebrity
2) It had nothing to do with Trump’s message or the fact he was a billionaire businessman
3) All we need is some great Democrat celebrity (Oprah) or businessman (Iger) we can package to duplicate his success
4) The public is to stupid to figure out our brilliance in doing this
Oh yeah. Oprah and her never-ending abreacting of her own personal trauma—that’ll play well in the heartland.
America needs a president who cries and snivels at every opportunity.
Somebody needs to tell Lowry that ‘half the country’ began to despise Oprah when she chose to cast her lot with Obama.
If she gets elected, she should have Kerosene Maxine as press secretary. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?
You all had better pay attention here. That lady is practicing her run and there will be a mob rush to the polls to put her in the whitehouse.
You watch her talking... she’s on a stump for the presidency.
Like newsreaders and their self importance, Oprah would be just a puppet speech reader to the real commie regime behind the scenes...the office would be the Obama brownstone with e Jarrett at the helm and Soros funding.
I call her talk the “our legs are tightly closed” talk ...
GFY Cruzbot Nevertrumper
Richie’s gettin lathered fer Da Rock.
What every Big Media bloviator seems utterly clueless about is that Trump - besides being rich, yes, and a celebrity, yes - is also politically smart.
That is, he has actual policy ideas, he can see forward, he can properly analyze the political situation, and he can read people who are less-than-honest. All these skills he picked up in the high-pressure-world of New York politics, with the end result that he’s now actually one of the most politically-savvy leaders out there.
Hillary never had these skills (she always coasted along on her husband’s name) and it showed when she was stuck in a real contest, even with a 2-to-1 money advantage. And a lot of others being touted for 2020 also may have the money and celebrity, but are politically clueless - Jeff Bezos, Dwayne Johnson, and .... Oprah.
And then there’s the “personal baggage” problem, that always self-weeds out many candidates ....
WON’T be Oprah 2020
Lots of talk but as soon as Oprah has to take a stand on the immigration, North Korea, the deficit, legalizing pot, etc., she’ll be just another candidate.
She pimped for Harvey Weinstein. I wonder if any of those women will speak out.
And I wonder how long it will take for the libs to scrub from the internet all the photos of her and Harvy cozying up together. Grab them and save to hard drive while you still can. I figure they’ll be gone in two weeks’ time.
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