Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Oprah in 2020?

Getty Images

Frank Rich in New York Magazine:

...The fact that Oprah would be another celebrity candidate should not be held against her just because Trump is a celebrity. If we use Trump as a precedent, no man should ever be a president again either.

Nor should Oprah’s lack of a record in government be a deterrent; she won’t have to defend (as, say, Joe Biden would) a long and sometimes compromised Washington past that might include the undermining of the #MeToo testimony of Anita Hill or voting for the Iraq war. Oprah may have had her own embarrassments, but her cheerleading for the likes of Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil should not be confused with Vietnam.

That said, the coy speculation and hints (including from her partner, Stedman Graham) about whether she is seriously considering a run or not is already getting tedious, and, with time, could be a dagger pointed at the Democrats’ 2020 prospects. 

If the idea of her running remains seriously in play, say, a year from now, her stature will deprive other contenders of the political oxygen of both media attention and donors’ dollars. Having opened this door, Oprah now has the obligation to either walk through it or slam it shut on a responsible timeline.

Labels: , ,