What's up with Oprah?

[MAlibdem]

She's politically center-left if I remember correctly.

She should endorse Kerry.

She has a "big announcement" for Monday that she's been waiting "all summer to share." I dunno what it's about, but it'd be cool if it were an endorsement.

[Eric J in MN]

1. That would be great, but it could be a million non-political things (nt)

nt

[The Zanti Regent]

14. Please, nobody kisses GOP ass like Oprah!

I still remember how Oprah slobbered all over the Chimp.

Then there was that big ass kiss fest with Arnold when Oprah REFUSED to let Gray Davis on and tell his side of the story.

She's nothing but a GOP Presstitute like the rest of the Whore Press

[dmr]

25. Yes, having Arnold on afforded him a tremendous advantage

for his campaign. She was wrong to do it. We had a letter campaign to her in DU about it.

Except for the day she had President Clinton on, she is banned from my television set.

[skooooo]

2. She's having Dave Chappelle's baby..

[sonicx]

3. i think she's getting married (just my guess) nt

[Fed Up]

4. "all summer to share" don't sound like a political endorsement.

IMHO

[ugarte]

5. I haven't forgiven her for letting Bush kiss her in 2000

n/t

[faithnotgreed]

6. adopting a child.... on 2nd thought: getting married and then

adopting a child

[JI7]

7. no, sounds like she is getting married, but i would like Teresa to go on

the show. in fact teresa and elizabeth edwards should both go on together.

[seabeyond]

13. that would be excellent

good idea. they need to

[Renew Deal]

8. She's a man

[JohnKleeb]

23. no shes becoming a man

An addadictome, Oprah will become drum roll please, Oppie Winfrey.

[Norquist Nemesis]

9. She's probably getting married.

As far as the politics of Oprah, I don't trust her anymore. She put Arnold and Maria on during the gov race. Maria is a close friend. After they went on her show, there really was no stopping him.

I'm not in California, so I all I can say is if that's what Californians wanted...well, so be it. But no matter how much the Davis was disliked, it just seemed like a loophole in the CA Constitution that was exploited by Republicans. And the fact that Dave Drieir (sp) was front and center with so much of it was sickening.

</off Oprah rant>

[saracat]

10. She has been firmly in the Bush camp for a long time.

One of those that the Kerry tax cut will hurt, don cha know?
It was her interview with "Arnahold" for her friend Maria that gave the gropernator the election. This is the same Oprah that had Maria say on her show that Arnold would leave her if she was ever raped because she would be "damaged goods"! The same Oprah who then let Arnahold come on and talk about what a good husband he is and how much he "respects" GAG! women.

[Dookus]

11. no

why would she do that? She's not in politics - she's in entertainment. Why alienate half her audience?

[seabeyond]

12. i dont know. since arnie got in calif

ooooosh, she went the other way. she liked bush when she had gore and bush in 2000

but arnie, she let him get away with a whole lot of crap. for a woman that empowers woman, tit grabbin arnold said some stupid things and ..........well she is bestest friends with maria

[Algorem]

15. She's got the koolaid ready.Her and all her Opraholics are going to

Opraheaven forever and ever oh boy.

[Fleshdancer]

16. She doesn't bring her personal politics on her show

She gives puff pieces equally to both republicans and Democrats. I don't think she has any interest in being partisan. I respect her for it. It's nice to know that when the country is THIS polarized, I can still watch her show without having to deal with political crap for an hour.

[saracat]

19. She doesn't state her politics on her show

but she does practice them.She is obviously Repug. She handed the CA election to Arnie and if that wasn't playing politics ,I don't know what was.Did she make an equally big deal about Grey Davis? Noo.Her choice was clear.I think she doesn't like trial lawyers since she was sued by the beef industry. I lost all respect for her when she was running around giving seminars for women with problems that were "faith based" not so much Christian, though I think she had Marianne Williamson with he,and charged these poor, financially challenged women $3000 apiece for the 3 days of lectures.And thousands of women attended.She made a fortune off the backs of women who couldn't afford it.There were NO scholarships.And supposedly she is so generous! And Bush is a compassionate conservative.

[Dookus]

21. there's nothing

"obviously" republican about her.

Yes, she had Arnie on her show. Why shouldn't she? He was the hottest thing in america at the time. She's after ratings. She got 'em. That's her job.

[saracat]

29. I would think she was interested in "fairness in media"

but she isn't.Legally ,i know they don't have to observe the" fairness doctrine "anymore but she was asked about giving equal time to Grey Davis and she wouldn't.That wasn't just about ratings.She knew what she was doing.

[Dookus]

30. Of course she knew what she was doing

I live in California and *I* didn't wanna see Gray Davis on television.

She has a daytime talk show. She wants guests that people will tune in to see. Arnold was one of those, in spades. Gray Davis wasn't.

[saracat]

32. Well then, everyone should enjoy RW TV.

Fox gets the best "ratings".Which might prove your point.But Oprah didn't need a ratings bump.She did a favor for Maria.She about as much said so.
My Comment was about "fairness' in media, not ratings.She knew she was unfair.We can't scream about other media, and then let someone like Oprah off the hook.She has often crossed the line into activism and surrendered her right to be judged as pure "entertainment"

[Dookus]

33. sigh

Oprah has no obligation whatsoever to be "fair and balanced". She has an entertainment show. She had Arnold on because he was a particularly compelling story at that time.

She had Bill Clinton on recently. Was she then obligated to bring on Ken Starr?

I know it's hard to believe, but not EVERYBODY in America is a partisan hard-core political activist. Some people, like Oprah, simply want to do their jobs. Oprah has shown for decades that she's particularly good at doing her job.

The fact is, if *I* had a tv talk show, I'd want Arnold on. People tuned in to watch, and that's her goal.

[saracat]

34. Wow! Dookus.

I guess I fundamentally believe that all of us ,have an obligation to be somewhat "fair and balanced."Oprah is no different.In fact she has a greater obligation because she can influence people. If she is cognisant of that obligation and spurns it, well, the best I can say is, she is not a particularly nice person.You seem to say that it is okay to trade influence for money.Or ratings.If she isn't "a hard core partisan activist" she shouldn't use her "entertainment" show to influence a vote. BTW Arnold was not on because he had a compelling story.He was on a a favor to Maria. Grey Davis actually had a more "particularly compelling story as he was being ousted as a sitting governor, but whatever. I'm sure the ratings were worth it. And as for Bill Clinton, it wasn't about an election.He was promoting his book.It was a whole different story.

[Dookus]

35. *shrug*

obviously, I was referring to the old Fairness Doctrine, which isn't in play and hasn't been for 20 years.

You think she's not a particularly nice person. I've never met her, but everything I've heard and read says otherwise. She DOES give millions away and devotes a lot of time and substantial influence to good causes.

Now, before you presume I'm some kinda Opraholic, I've probably watched her show 5 or 6 times in my life, either when I was sick on the couch, or she had a particularly interesting guest (I watched when Clinton was on for the first time in years).

As to why she had Arnold on, and not Davis, I simply disagree with you that the average viewer of Oprah's show gave a rat's ass about seeing Gray Davis. Without knowing the numbers, I would bet that the Arnold appearance was a highly-rated show for her. I would think a Gray Davis show would be a very low-rated show.

But the point I'm making is simply that what WE think of as partisan politics isn't necessarily seen that way by others. I repeat, that if *I* had a TV talk show at the time, I would have LOVED to have Arnold on. He was instant ratings.

Furthermore, to pretend that the Oprah appearance had any appreciable effect on the election is silly.

[saracat]

36. Okay.We will have to agree to disagree.

I just meant that I'm my opinion, she should take into account more than "ratings". I also don't think the "average viewer" would want to see Grey Davis more than Arnold. The average viewer will confine us to Fox news and reality TV.I agree with you. But again, I believe it is about more than ratings. I guess I would hope Oprah would be about more than ratings or money and she isn't.Boo Hoo For me. And it is ridiculous to assume that with the volume of her viewership that the Oprah appearance of Arnold had "no appreciable effect on the election"! Even Arnold knows better than that! It was because of an assumed effect that he wanted to do the appearance. He had to "fix" his image as the "gropernator" enough to get the women's vote.He had to do that by appearing to be a great husband to Maria and the only show with sufficient viewership to do the trick was Oprah.Arnold didn't do the show because he had nothing better to do that day! But whatever .Truce.

[sadiesworld]

24. She's tight as a tick.

She does some good things for charity, but it generally seems to involve someone else's money. Of course, she may have changed her MO (:eyes:)...I haven't watched her since the Ahnold love fest. :puke:

[Fleshdancer]

26. I honestly have no idea what her political beliefs are

Sure she had Arnold and his Democratic wife on her show but she lives and works in Chicago so it's not like she politically benefits from whoever the Gov. of California is. Whether we like it or not, the idea of an immigrant actor running for governor in the oddest state election in US history makes for good TV. I honestly think Arnold would have been on that show even if he were a Democrat.

As for trial lawyers go...I think her "beef" is more with the beef industry for suing her than with lawyers.

I don't know much about the seminars but I do know that she donates millions of dollars each year to various charities all over the world.

The woman is building schools in Africa for cryin' out loud!

She gave hundreds of African children their first "Christmas" by showering them with gifts they need like shoes that actually fit their feet and gifts they've never had before like dolls and other toys we in America take for granted.

My bet is that she's not all Democrat and not all Republican. She's probably a mix of a lot of beliefs.

[saracat]

31. And screwing financially desperate women with her seminars!

And she makes her "charities", which are tax deductions, a publicity arm of her show. Please. And as for Arnold, you don't think having the Governor of California indebted to you is politically and otherwise beneficial, wherever you live? And what makes you think she doesn't own a residence in California? She has five houses,"for cryin out loud" I suppose you believe she is responsible for the giveaways on her show at Christmas too?

[fujiyama]

28. She may

or may not be a republican...My inclination is more toward her being a media whore...slightly less offensive than the talking heads on CNN.

Here are her political contributions from newsmeat:
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=IL&last=Winfrey&first=Oprah

WINFREY, OPRAH
CHICAGO, IL 60600
HARPO PRODUCTIONS
DNC SERVICES CORPORATION/DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE (D) $5000 11/28/97
WINFREY, OPRAH
CHICAGO, IL 60603
DSCC NON-FEDERAL INDIVIDUALS $10000 10/25/96
WINFREY, OPRAH
CHICAGO, IL 60610
HARPO STUDIOS BRAUN, CAROL MOSELEY (D)
Senate - IL
CAROL MOSELEY-BRAUN FOR US SENATE 1998 INC $1000 08/04/92
WINFREY, OPRAH
CHICAGO, IL 60601
HARPO INC ENGELEITER, SUSAN S (R)
Senate - WI
ENGELEITER FOR SENATE COMMITTEE $1000 09/15/88

[Dookus]

20. Exactly

some people can't understand the idea of being non-partisan.

Yeah, she sucked up to Bush. She also sucked up to Clinton. She sucks to up to everybody, and doesn't concern herself with partisan politics.

To many people, that's a horrible flaw. I think it's being really smart, considering her job.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

17. She spent an entire show pushing for war in Iraq. THEN she had

Schwarzenegger on the show before the election.

She was actually "censured" by Sweden due to her show on Iraq.

[autorank]

18. She's done purging and now its time to binge!!!! Party hardy

[gauguin57]

22. Till I saw Bush operate,

I thought Oprah was the antichrist.

[Dem2theMax]

27. She's finally going to go on Letterman?

LOL. Nah. Dave wouldn't have been able to keep his mouth shut all summer if that were the case. ;)

[Piperay]

37. Oprah is nothing but a repug shill

I used to like her, I watched her even after her kiss-up to chimp but having arnie on and refusing Davis the same really turned me against her. :puke:

[Democat]

38. She helped Arnold take over California, don't get your hopes up!

Who knows what she might pull - maybe an "exclusive" Bush "interview"?

[alphafemale]

39. Pregnant. I'd stake the farm on it if I had one.

I don't think she'll ever get married and risk 50% of her hard-earned money to that handsome but no-job Stedman.

[in_cog_ni_to]

41. Nope.

She has said she never wanted to have children....too much work.

[in_cog_ni_to]

40. Since DU bombarded her with emails about the Electronic Voting Machines,

I would hope she's going to announce that she's having Bev Harris and Andy on her show...yeah, right. :eyes:

She's probably getting married. Ahhhhnold will have the wedding at the Governor's mansion in Ca. :grr:

If Oprah doesn't do a show on Electronic Voting Machines...we'll know where she's coming from. She must have received 100 emails from DUers. How could she ignore them? Ahhhhnold probably told her not to pay any attention to those "rumors" about the voting machines.

She was complicit in getting Ahhhhnold elected. SHAME ON HER! :grr: