September 5, 2008
Oprah: Tough Decisions to Make
I know, she is a talk show host, not a reporter, it’s all opinion, but I still find this funny if not humorous (from Drudge):
Oprah Winfrey may have introduced Democrat Barack Obama to the women of America — but the talkshow queen is not rushing to embrace the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket!
Oprah’s staff is sharply divided on the merits of booking Sarah Palin, sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.
“Half of her staff really want Sarah Palin her on,” an insider explains. “Oprah’s website is getting tons of requests to put her on, but Oprah and a couple of her top people are adamantly against it because of Obama.”
One executive close to Winfrey is warning any Palin ban could ignite a dramatic backlash!
It is not clear if Oprah has softened her position after watching Palin’s historic convention speech.
Last year, Winfrey blocked an appearance by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, timed to a promotional tour of his autobiography.
Oprah and executive producer Sheri Salata, who has contributed thousands of dollars to Obama’s campaign, refused requests for comment.
Developing…
I feel bad for Oprah. Right now she has to choose between the people who pay her paycheck and her own values. Should we make wagers?
Side note: My wife went to Oprah once and was treated to a concert from Mary J. Blige and homemade muffins from Barbra Streisand. So I am positive this isn’t sexism. 
http://race42008.com/2008/09/05/oprah-tough-decisions-to-make/trackback/
September 5th, 2008 at 8:33 am
she needs to have Palin on out of simple fairness, I hope she does get hammered for this if it doesn’t happen
September 5th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Well said Jason. The Oprah crowd is actually a little diverse, a few will join the Palin camp with or without her permission.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:39 am
i hope she doesn’t, and the backlash will be even worse then the crumbling US weekly, already lost 10,000 subscribers because of the palin smears.
oprah should crumble too for becoming a partisan hack for hometown barry.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Oprah is a Democratic hack!
September 5th, 2008 at 8:42 am
I don’t see how Oprah could deny a VP candidate an interview. Thomas promoting his book is one thing, but she couldn’t deny her audience such an important person.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Jason, get real. Oprah does not need a paycheck. Her support for B.O. is all about race and has nothing to do with women.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:48 am
6. You are right - Oprahs support for Obama is based on
race most likely.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:48 am
and being a Democrat.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I could see Oprah grilling Palin on the capitals of Southeast Asia, or the cabinet members of the North Africa nations.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:54 am
I would love to see Gov Palin on Oprah. MWS - that would be great wouldn’t it? Gov Palin could have a chance to show off her leadership qualities!
September 5th, 2008 at 8:58 am
umm….ellen?
nevermind.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:04 am
A huge portion of Oprah’s audience are moderate to conservative women. Don’t forget that her audience is mostly homemakers or retired women who are able to watch during the day.
Oprah needs to put Palin on and be fair to her otherwise she will lose a significant chunk of her audience, and more importantly she will lose the trust of an even bigger portion of her audience and her ability to promote products and people will be diminished.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:04 am
there is good news on the Rassmussen poll today. Overnight McCain closed the gap from 5 down to 2 down.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:06 am
I just talked with a friend of mine at work (and her husband) and persuaded both of them from voting for Obama to voting for McCain. That’s 2 more votes netted here in Michigan!
September 5th, 2008 at 9:10 am
not gonna happen. the campaign has already said Palin is doing NO unscripted or q&a type interviews. it would be horrible if oprah invited her and the campaign turned it down. what, they’re going to accuse OPRAH of all people of being sexist???? not gonna happen, but not because of oprah, but because the campaign wants it that way.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:15 am
jackson, I’m sure that eventually Palin will do interviews. Oprah won’t be accused “of being sexist” but of being a partisan democrat.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:17 am
More good news for McCain today. Obama’s intrade numbers have fallen to 55.0 and McCain’s have risen to 42.7. I think both are the best McCain has shown in weeks, if not ever.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Palin doesn’t need to do the rounds on the MSM. Just do what is necessary. Don’t trust anyone in the media. These people are desperate! They see an 87 year old man on the Supreme Court as their last hope in holding onto the Court, which is everything to them. If McCain wins, it’s almost guaranteed that Stevens will be replaced someone more conservative and the court will shift to the right. Right now, we have 4 votes on that Court. The media will do whatever it takes to deny us that 5th vote!
September 5th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Why don’t they want her out doing interviews?
September 5th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Oprah isn’t MSM.
Apparently most of you have never watched Oprah. She isn’t going to ask policy questions or gotcha questions. She would ask what it is like to be a mother and governor. About her decision after she knew Tagg had Down’s Syndrome, etc.
It isn’t the view. She would only help herself which is why Oprah doesn’t want to do it.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:22 am
#13 terry,
Great news on the rasmussen poll! McCain probably won the day if it moved that much!
September 5th, 2008 at 9:22 am
#18 - but the media LOVED Gov Palin’s speech. I’ve only heard great reviews from the media. That doesn’t make any sense that the campaign doesn’t want to send the “pit bull” out and let people get to know her! I think you’re wrong and I expect we’ll be seeing her all over the talk show circuit.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:22 am
The McCain staff said this morning on “Morning Joe” that she would do interviews, but they indicated that it would not be right away. They compared the rush for her to Biden, noting that he had not done any interviews after he was picked.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:27 am
#23 - BALONEY! Biden has been everywhere - every news show I turned on after the convention had Biden’s face on it. He was once on several morning shows the same morning - every time I turned the channel there was his face! I’m sure we’ll see a lot of Gov Palin!! GO SARAH!
September 5th, 2008 at 9:28 am
“I feel bad for Oprah”
lol
September 5th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Even if McCain wins, it is unlikely that he gets anyone confirmed better than a Kennedy-type. That would be a huge change and well worth it, but the Dem controlled Senate is likely to have 53 to 55 seats.
My guess is that if McCain wins, Stevens will wait for McCain’s popularity to drop and retire as soon as possible before 2010 so that he can give the Dems the best chance to oppose a conservative nominee.
McCain’s only chance to overcome the Dem Senate is to appoint a Hispanic. That may give enough Dems pause that they don’t want to vote against the first nominee from the fastest growing large demographic in the country.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Stevens marches to the beat of his own drum. It’s totally unpredictable when he will retire. At the very least, a President McCain could give us more control over the lower courts when some of the Clinton appointees start to retire. For those who are interested, here’s the current breakdown of the lower courts by the President who appointed them:
George W. Bush: 301
Bill Clinton: 321
George Bush Sr.: 96
Ronald Reagan: 78
Jimmy Carter: 18
Gerald Ford: 2
Richard Nixon: 1
Lyndon Johnson: 1
As you can see, Clinton got a ton of appointees (because they expanded the federal courts while he was in office), and almost all of the Democratic appointees are Clinton appointees. We can make a dent in the courts with another 4 years, but really most of the retirees in the next 4 years will probably be Republicans from the elder Bush and Reagan years, although more than a few will be Clinton appointees. Bush has really made very little progress in the past 8 years in changing the overall composition of the court. He’s been replacing Republican appointees with Republican appointees.
September 5th, 2008 at 10:13 am
EricB, thanks. That’s useful data about who appointed the judges.
September 5th, 2008 at 10:15 am
I could care less for “crazy cow Oprah”. Haven’t watched her since she cost us over $150,000 in cattle sales that year. We have just this year finally recouped from that loss.
Why anyone would watch such a self-centered program is beyond me.
September 5th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Well just about everyone is a hypocrite it seems now, it is really becoming stylish. Palin, who I see as representing the average accomplished American housewife, is really getting lousy treatment from the liberals, elite media, Oprah, and believe it or not lots of mainstream Americans who think she should be living her life differently than she currently is (a cover for sexism, bias against real women, whatever you want to call it). Lets bring it out in the open. Palin, or at least younger more fragile parts of her family, will likely be damaged or crushed in the process but it appears she is willing to pay that price. It will ultimately benefit America, but she is going to pay a terrible personal price and I don’t know if I can bear to watch it.
September 5th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Well, she made her decision!
Palin will not be on the show.
I sent in a request anyway -
http://www.oprah.com/ord/plugform.jsp?plugId=216
September 5th, 2008 at 11:05 am
These women and their supporters across America are truly the strength of America, so they won’t be the only one taking hits in this ongoing battle. May I refer you to the piece today explaining how a Texan housewife, assisted by her husband, shot and injured two masked thugs attempting to rob her home with their own shotguns. Her simple explanation was, “I was going to let them get to my babies.” I can give you thousands of examples of this strength. And I hope these women win this round, too.
September 5th, 2008 at 11:06 am
correction: “I WASN’T GOING TO LET THEM GET TO MY BABIES.”
September 5th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Trust me, Oprah will have her on. The backlash is on its way. Oprah is not that stupid. She is still running a business. However because she doesnt’ real care about the business anymore and is running the show more as ap latform to do what she wants, she may stick to her guns. I would be suprised though if she pretty quickly dosen’t let palin on.
September 5th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
6. I am guessing Oprah like receiving a salary. She doesn’t work for free.
September 5th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I am totally not understanding oprah’s explanation. she says she decided taht when seh took a stance politically she decide not to let any other candidates use who as platform. but didn’t she let obama do that? if so, how is what drudge is saying untrue? I don’t get it.
September 5th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I think Oprah is so rich, she can do what she wants. I just wish celebrities would stay out of politics.
September 5th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
If Hillary had become vice president, I am sure she would have had her on, because it would have supported Obama and Oprah is Liberal.
September 5th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I doubt Palin will have to beg many people to give her air time, anyways. Maybe Oprah is yesterday’s meatloaf. I haven’t watched for the last 5 years at least, ever since she had Leonardo Di Capuccino on as an “expert on global warming” because he bought a Prius. He looked like an 18 year old at the time.
September 5th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I don’t really see all the fuss about this. It’s Oprah’s program, and I don’t begrudge her her political preferences. Hell, if I had a political talk show and was in a comparable situation, I probably wouldn’t want to have a guest on that would boost the Obama ticket. Not a big deal, methinks.
September 5th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
From Free Republic — a petition being signed to have Palin on Oprah’s show. Frankly, I gave up on paying attention to Oprah a long time ago during the 2004 election when she played politics with Cameron Diaz (and probably others) against G.W. Bush.
Cancelled my magazine subscription and told them why.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2075632/posts?q=1&;page=101
September 5th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I’m going to partially defend Oprah on this one. She has openly declared which candidate she is supporting. She isn’t a reporter and she isn’t using a facade of neutrality to take potshots at the Republican ticket. In addition, although she has campaigned for Obama, she has not had him appear on her show for almost two years.