Sure, Oprah Can Sell Romance Novels and Cupcakes That Cost $75 a Dozen (Plus Shipping)...

But can she peddle goods that aren't disposable, like Leaders of the Free World?

If you've ever seen the helpless look in Ms. Winfrey's eyes when she turns to Michael Moore for answers to tough questions, you may sense that she's not quite ready to push presidential product.

And just because Oprah has declared that Barack Obama is "The One" doesn't mean the American people will buy her pitch.

It is even doubtful that Oprah's legions will heed her call and Vote Obama. After all, casting a ballot can hardly be considered a self-indulgent pleasure.

Everyone knows that real Oprah Girls would rather stay at home in their jammies, reading Eat, Pray, Love while sipping wine and snacking on baked goods...

Because a pie in the hand is worth two in the sky.

To her credit, however, Oprah recognizes that her endorsement of Barack Obama may set tongues a-wagging...

From C-SPAN: Oprah's appearance in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday (time sensitive link). Ctrl+E (3:58) to seek this portion of the video. "You know, so much has been said about what my jumping into this arena does or does not bring to the table of politics. "I really don't know. "I'm going to leave that all up to the pundits, who all say, you know... (At this point, Ms. Winfrey channels the voice of Bela Lugosi doing his impersonation of Queen Elizabeth...) "Will it be the same influence as her book club? "Vill it be like the Favorite Things Show? (The Oprah voice returns...) "I don't know about all of that. "Despite all the talk, all the speculation and the hype, I understand the difference between a book club and free refrigerators...That was a nice refrigerator. "I understand the difference between that and this critical moment in our nation's history... "And so...And so I bathed... Yes, I did...And I got dressed to come out here for, I suspect, the same reason you did...Because I care about this country. "And as we were driving in here today, I said, ah, "You have to care about this country to come out in this kind of weather." "Twelve degrees, freezing rain and snow...You love America. I can see that you do."

Conclusion: If Oprah equates getting cleaned up and dressed with love of country, this may be another indication that presidential politics are a bit out of her league.

Problem two: How will Ms. Winfrey's endorsement affect Barack Obama's budding reputation as a "statesman"?

The manner in which Barack Obama handles the Oprah Endorsement may be just as important to his campaign as the endorsement itself.

In the mind's eye, there are statesmanlike ways to graciously accept a celebrity endorsement and still maintain one's dignity and stature as, possibly, the next president of the United States.

Gushing over Oprah, however, isn't one of them. And Senator Obama's failure to contain his giddiness in Oprah's mere presence hardly inspires confidence in his leadership abilities.

From the same C-SPAN video (Ctrl+E, 23:10), which starts out... "There's this woman with a funny name...come from some little town in the South. Nobody would have thought that she would become somebody who moves an entire nation...each and every day..." (After three or four minutes of heaping praise upon praise on the billionaire talk-show host, he ends with this rallying cry to the Oprah-delirious audience...) "GIVE IT UP FOR OPRAH!...WE LOVE OPRAH!"

At least Michelle Obama had enough wits about her to addresss the Oprah Ga-Ga with a little humor...

"Oprah and Barack couldn't be here...I'm sorry...I'm going to sing for you for the rest of the hour..."

Maybe Senator Obama should take some lessons from his wife, who behaved like a mature adult during this campaign appearance by warmly welcoming Ms. Winfrey with a brief introduction - and doing so without once prostrating herself on the altar of Oprah.

Which raises another concern over Obama's Oprah worship...

As president of the United States, will Barack Obama be as deferential to Ms. Winfrey as he presently appears? More importantly, will he succumb to Oprah's dictates in times of national crisis?

If Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are expected to assure Americans that Christianity (or the leadership of their respective churches) will not interfere with their duties and responsibilities or in any way influence the decisions they make as president, it should be incumbent on Barack Obama to take a similar pledge regarding The Oprah.

More than a few voters will want to know who's trying to ride who's coattails to the White House.

Comments

[T1]

Want a breath of fresh air?

Try an Oprah Windbag.

[Dan Collins]

Chuck Norris would kick her ass.

[Mrs. R.]

You're right, Dan, but after a workout like that, he wouldn't be of much use to Huckabee...Maybe someone could arrange a match between the two.

[benny bird]

And when liberal group hold a big bah their tickets go for $500 each and especialy PETA who often invite the usial hollywood witless wonders to be served some god awful vegan puke paste by some PETA wacko wearing dumb aprons with dumb antimeat antifur coats slogan stencled on them

[Wry Mouth]

This was a lovely screed with brains... mayhap if Obama loses, he can win a post as Oprah's "Ed McMahon?"