Oprah Winfrey 2020?

Seattle Husker

Seattle Husker

10,000+ Posts
Lot's of scuttlebutt about her Golden Globes speech last night being purposeful in setting the table for a POTUS run. She's denied it but her partner said she'd certainly run.

Though I think Oprah is much more qualified than our current POTUS, it's still not enough to be POTUS, IMHO. I'm done with celebrities with a desire to be POTUS. In the end, you should have a deep knowledge of the issues facing our country to hold that office.
 
Well, if we wanted a POTUS, his tasking would be for a very few items and he'd have the authority to execute that tasking effectively and efficiently.

But we want the Fed to provide and arbitrate everything. Your great city/state is Exhibit B, A being the State of Kaly.
 
ShAArk92 said:
Well, if we wanted a POTUS, his tasking would be for a very few items and he'd have the authority to execute that tasking effectively and efficiently.

But we want the Fed to provide and arbitrate everything. Your great city/state is Exhibit B, A being the State of Kaly.
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Ahhh...ideal vs. reality.
 
ProdigalHorn said:
How?
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She has all the demonstrated business acumen and more that Trump claims and the public has been able to see her personality and intellect on a daily basis for decades. Her ability to interview guests on complex issues displays curiosity to understand topics.

With that said, political experience matters in D.C. and international relations.
 
Seattle Husker said:
She has all the demonstrated business acumen and more that Trump claims and the public has been able to see her personality and intellect on a daily basis for decades.
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My assumption is that she has some involvement in her brand, but I have no idea how much she actually does in terms of managing the business, making financial decisions, having business acumen beyond understanding her worth as a brand and finding people who can manage her affairs well.

Hey she may be a business genius! I don't know. But in terms of her intellect, I don't know that I've ever heard her say anything insightful in terms of political, socio-economical, governmental, or financial content. She seems good at talking to people, relating to them, telling stories, picking styles and books, and she clearly has personal charisma.

Was just looking at her Wikipedia page:

Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a teenage single mother and later raised in an inner-city Milwaukee neighborhood. She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teens and became pregnant at 14; her son died in infancy.[17] Sent to live with the man she calls her father, a barber in Tennessee, Winfrey landed a job in radio while still in high school and began co-anchoring the local evening news at the age of 19. Her emotional ad-lib delivery eventually got her transferred to the daytime talk show arena, and after boosting a third-rated local Chicago talk show to first place,[18] she launched her own production company and became internationally syndicated.

Credited with creating a more intimate confessional form of media communication,[19] she is thought to have popularized and revolutionized[19][20] the tabloid talk show genre pioneered by Phil Donahue,[19] which a Yale study says she broke 20th century taboos and allowed LGBTpeople to enter the mainstream.[21][22] By the mid-1990s, she had reinvented her show with a focus on literature, self-improvement, and spirituality. Though criticized for unleashing a confession culture, promoting controversial self-help ideas,[23] and an emotion-centered approach,[24] she is often praised for overcoming adversity to become a benefactor to others.[25]From 2006 to 2008, her endorsement of Obama, by one estimate, delivered over a million votes in the close 2008 Democratic primary race.[26]

Great success story. Not really sure I am comfortable having someone who's big on pushing unvetted self-help remedies on an unsuspecting public.

As far as I can tell, Trump's main qualification was "he's been successful in business and self-promotion, and seems to have an understanding of America's role in the global economy, and Hollywood used to love him before he became a Republican nominee." Oprah's would be "she's been successful in business and self-promotion, and seems to have an understanding of how to make people feel good about themselves, and Hollywood basically (and in some cases literally) worships her as a god."
 
ProdigalHorn said:
Great success story. Not really sure I am comfortable having someone who's big on pushing unvetted self-help remedies on an unsuspecting public.

As far as I can tell, Trump's main qualification was "he's been successful in business and self-promotion, and seems to have an understanding of America's role in the global economy, and Hollywood used to love him before he became a Republican nominee." Oprah's would be "she's been successful in business and self-promotion, and seems to have an understanding of how to make people feel good about themselves, and Hollywood basically (and in some cases literally) worships her as a god."
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I probably give her more credit given she came from literally nothing to make her fortune vs. Trump starting on 3rd base. She didn't have the benefit of starting with a "small load of $1 million" (Trump's quote) from his Dad and all the real estate connections. DJT adopted the family business. Oprah has probably a better rags to riches story than anyone else in the US.

I'm not familiar with Oprah's New Age ideas nor do I know anything about The Secret. Were she to run I'd have to learn more about that.

Trump is a tremendous real estate developer which have carried most of his other businesses. Both are pretty darn good self promoters, with different styles. I prefer Oprah's Mahatma Ghandi vs. Trump's PT Barnum style but to each their own.

Where they differ is demonstrated philanthropy. DJT talks about it but Oprah is at the forefront. She deserves credit for living by her professed ideals.

This track record is impressive for anyone not named Bill or Melinda Gates:
Philanthropy

Winfrey visits evacuees from New Orleans temporarily sheltered at the Reliant center in Houston following Hurricane Katrina.
In 2004, Winfrey became the first black person to rank among the 50 most generous Americans[182] and she remained among the top 50 until 2010.[183] By 2012, she had given away about $400 million to educational causes.[184]

As of 2012, Winfrey had also given over 400 scholarships to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.[102] Winfrey was the recipient of the first Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at 2002 Emmy Awards for services to television and film. To celebrate two decades on national TV, and to thank her employees for their hard work, Winfrey took her staff and their families (1065 people in total) on vacation to Hawaii in the summer of 2006.[185]

In 2013, Winfrey donated $12 million to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.[186] President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom later that same year.[187]

Oprah's Angel Network
In 1998, Winfrey created the Oprah's Angel Network, a charity that supported charitable projects and provided grants to nonprofit organizations around the world. Oprah's Angel Network raised more than $80,000,000 ($1 million of which was donated by Jon Bon Jovi). Winfrey personally covered all administrative costs associated with the charity, so 100% of all funds raised went to charity programs. In May 2010, with Oprah's show ending, the charity stopped accepting donations and was shut down.[188] [189]

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Oprah created the Oprah Angel Network Katrina registry which raised more than $11 million for relief efforts. Winfrey personally gave $10 million to the cause.[190] Homes were built in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama before the one-year anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.[191]

South Africa
Main article: Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls
In 2004, Winfrey and her team filmed an episode of her show, Oprah's Christmas Kindness, in which Winfrey travelled to South Africa to bring attention to the plight of young children affected by poverty and AIDS. During the 21-day trip, Winfrey and her crew visited schools and orphanages in poverty-stricken areas, and distributed Christmas presents to 50,000 children,[192] with dolls for the girls and soccer balls for the boys, and school supplies. Throughout the show, Winfrey appealed to viewers to donate money to Oprah's Angel Network for poor and AIDS-affected children in Africa. From that show alone, viewers around the world donated over $7,000,000. Winfrey invested $40 million and some of her time establishing the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Henley on Klip south of Johannesburg, South Africa. The school set over 22 acres, opened in January 2007 with an enrollment of 150 pupils (increasing to 450) and features state-of-the-art classrooms, computer and science laboratories, a library, theatre, and beauty salon. Nelson Mandela praised Winfrey for overcoming her own disadvantaged youth to become a benefactor for others. Critics considered the school elitist and unnecessarily luxurious.[193] Winfrey rejected the claims, saying: "If you are surrounded by beautiful things and wonderful teachers who inspire you, that beauty brings out the beauty in you."[193] Winfrey, who has no surviving biological children, described maternal feelings towards the girls at Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.[194][195] Winfrey teaches a class at the school via satellite.[194]
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With all that said, it would still be an uphill battle to get my vote.
 
Seattle Husker said:
I probably give her more credit given she came from literally nothing to make her fortune vs. Trump starting on 3rd base. She didn't have the benefit of starting with a "small load of $1 million" (Trump's quote) from his Dad and all the real estate connections. DJT adopted the family business. Oprah has probably a better rags to riches story than anyone else in the US.

I'm not familiar with Oprah's New Age ideas nor do I know anything about The Secret. Were she to run I'd have to learn more about that.

Trump is a tremendous real estate developer which have carried most of his other businesses. Both are pretty darn good self promoters, with different styles. I prefer Oprah's Mahatma Ghandi vs. Trump's PT Barnum style but to each their own.

Where they differ is demonstrated philanthropy. DJT talks about it but Oprah is at the forefront. She deserves credit for living by her professed ideals.

This track record is impressive for anyone not named Bill or Melinda Gates:


With all that said, it would still be an uphill battle to get my vote.
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No it wouldn't. You're already sucking her titty.
 
ProdigalHorn said:
My assumption is that she has some involvement in her brand, but I have no idea how much she actually does in terms of managing the business, making financial decisions, having business acumen beyond understanding her worth as a brand and finding people who can manage her affairs well.

Hey she may be a business genius! I don't know. But in terms of her intellect, I don't know that I've ever heard her say anything insightful in terms of political, socio-economical, governmental, or financial content. She seems good at talking to people, relating to them, telling stories, picking styles and books, and she clearly has personal charisma.

Was just looking at her Wikipedia page:

Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a teenage single mother and later raised in an inner-city Milwaukee neighborhood. She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teens and became pregnant at 14; her son died in infancy.[17] Sent to live with the man she calls her father, a barber in Tennessee, Winfrey landed a job in radio while still in high school and began co-anchoring the local evening news at the age of 19. Her emotional ad-lib delivery eventually got her transferred to the daytime talk show arena, and after boosting a third-rated local Chicago talk show to first place,[18] she launched her own production company and became internationally syndicated.

Credited with creating a more intimate confessional form of media communication,[19] she is thought to have popularized and revolutionized[19][20] the tabloid talk show genre pioneered by Phil Donahue,[19] which a Yale study says she broke 20th century taboos and allowed LGBTpeople to enter the mainstream.[21][22] By the mid-1990s, she had reinvented her show with a focus on literature, self-improvement, and spirituality. Though criticized for unleashing a confession culture, promoting controversial self-help ideas,[23] and an emotion-centered approach,[24] she is often praised for overcoming adversity to become a benefactor to others.[25]From 2006 to 2008, her endorsement of Obama, by one estimate, delivered over a million votes in the close 2008 Democratic primary race.[26]

Great success story. Not really sure I am comfortable having someone who's big on pushing unvetted self-help remedies on an unsuspecting public.

As far as I can tell, Trump's main qualification was "he's been successful in business and self-promotion, and seems to have an understanding of America's role in the global economy, and Hollywood used to love him before he became a Republican nominee." Oprah's would be "she's been successful in business and self-promotion, and seems to have an understanding of how to make people feel good about themselves, and Hollywood basically (and in some cases literally) worships her as a god."
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Thinking about this a little more...Oprah would have a huge ally in the Obama's. BO didn't have much of an impact on HRC's campaign but his star has risen again in progressive circles given the contract to the current POTUS. You'd have to wager that if the Obama's backed Oprah they'd be a huge ally.
 
Seattle Husker said:
You'd have to wager that if the Obama's backed Oprah they'd be a huge ally.
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Unless no establishment Democrat decides to run, I'd be very surprised if Obama backed Oprah. If a prominent figure from his administration or Kamala Harris ran, I think that's who he would support. Keep in mind that one of the reasons he didn't do much for Hillary is that he didn't like Hillary because she treated him like crap back in 2008.
 
Mr. Deez said:
Keep in mind that one of the reasons he didn't do much for Hillary is that he didn't like Hillary because she treated him like crap back in 2008.
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the crap must not have been too bad, he made her SOS for crying out loud ... and has defended her with the email and uranium scandals.

I don't know who he'll endorse. I don't really care. The likelihood of my following his endorsement with my vote is almost as high as my becoming part of the staff at anm.
 
ShAArk92 said:
the crap must not have been too bad, he made her SOS for crying out loud ... and has defended her with the email and uranium scandals.
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He made Miss Hardworking White People his SoS to appease her and get her to back him after the convention. He defended her on email and uranium, because those allegations also reflected badly on him. Furthermore, if he hadn't defended her, he would have lost all political clout within the Democratic Party. He would have been viewed as a traitor.
 
ShAArk92 said:
Perhaps. So he was a puppet.
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Well, he's a self-serving politician. The last thing he needed was Hillary Clinton screwing with him in the general election. In light of what a crappy candidate McCain was and the brewing financial crisis, it probably wouldn't have mattered, but there was no way for Obama to know that when he would have made the deal.
 
Mr. Deez said:
He defended her on email and uranium, because those allegations also reflected badly on him. Furthermore, if he hadn't defended her, he would have lost all political clout within the Democratic Party.
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I don't remember a lot of the specifics, but I seem to remember especially in the first term that the left's main criticism of Obama was that he was not in it for "the party." He did a lot of self promotion but wasn't putting himself out there much for the party itself. It was more about backing people and issues that aligned with his vision or his priorities. I suspect a lot of that was noise from the Clinton factions who weren't happy that he wasn't kowtowing to them enough.
 
Mark Cuban will represent the Democrat ticket winning due to a split vote between Oprah, Kanye, and The Rock.

The Republicans will still hold the Senate and Kid Rock will be Senate Majority Leader. Meanwhile, I will be seeking housing in Deez’ garage near his German beer inventory.
 
ProdigalHorn said:
I don't remember a lot of the specifics, but I seem to remember especially in the first term that the left's main criticism of Obama was that he was not in it for "the party." He did a lot of self promotion but wasn't putting himself out there much for the party itself. It was more about backing people and issues that aligned with his vision or his priorities.
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To be fair, there was probably some truth to this at least when compared to Bill Clinton. He was definitely more of a party guy.
 
Oh I think there was a lot of truth to it. I never saw Obama as a party guy. He was a "me" guy. I never sensed any party loyalty beyond what the party could do to get him into power.

And to be clear, I don't know whether that's really an indictment so much as a statement. Does the party deserve loyalty? If it weren't driven by Obama's ego (which I believe it was) then I'd probably say "good for him!"
 
ShAArk92 said:
What's interesting is one's faith wasn't supposed to be a considerable issue ... but now all of a sudden it is and there is a strong response, evidently, among many who claim to be Christian and Oprah Winfrey supporters ...
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He specifically says that he's not talking about Oprah's views in terms of supporting her for president. He's talking about how so many Christians embrace Oprah as someone who has a common faith with them, and are willing as a result to listen to her advice and treat her as some wise Christian-oriented guru.

I seem to remember plenty of liberals attacked Christians for supporting Donald Trump despite his clearly superficial and convenient faith. So I'm not sure what you mean by "all of a sudden," implying some sort of hypocrisy. I'm not really clear what your point is here.
 
In previous campaigns, one's faith wasn't supposed to be a deal killer ... what was the phrase (like for the judge appointees) ... litmus test.

I'm not taking issue with Calabrese. He's a great writer and I've not yet encountered a point of theology of his with which I disagree. What I found to be hypocritical is the parading of Oprah as a legitimate candidate BECAUSE of her (alleged) Christianity and Calabrese effectively shows where she's leading people astray with her false doctrine, let alone her philosophical view of the Constitution and the role of the Fed (which is very much like the last guy's).
 
Is Oprah be lauded for her purported Christan views? I'm sure there may be some but i doubt that's the first reason anyone would cite for their support of a would-be candidacy. That article seems more like a preemptive strike rather thaan a response to current claims.
 
ShAArk92 said:
In previous campaigns, one's faith wasn't supposed to be a deal killer ... what was the phrase (like for the judge appointees) ... litmus test.
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The issue in this argument isn't "don't vote for Oprah because she's not really a Christian." If that had been the point, then you could make the "litmus test" argument. You'd still get resistance because many people would say "you bet it's a litmus test!" Just like any number of other litmus tests people have about candidates (must be pro-life or pro-choice, for example.)

All this guy says is "Oprah's not really a Christian, and if you're working under the assumption that she is, you need to take a closer look at what she believes." I'd say that's a pretty fair assessment.

And for the record, there's a HUGE difference between saying "I won't vote for someone because they believe this or that," and "this person should be disqualified for serving because they believe this or that." The latter is the Bernie Sanders position.
 
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