![Oprah Winfrey gets the Medal of Freedom [image courtesy White House]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/1/8/660x290/b_502x220x82/oprah-winfrey-gets-the-medal-of-freedom-image-courtesy-white-house_1767041.jpg "Oprah Winfrey gets the Medal of Freedom [image courtesy White House]")
Whoever produced the Golden Globe Awards must be thanking a beneficent God for Oprah Winfrey. Instead of talking about all of the annoying movies and TV shows that got ill-deserved awards or the rancid spectacle of Hollywood celebrities denouncing sexual harassment while dressed in funereal black, the media is talking about that speech and the dizzying prospect of Oprah running for president in 2020. Who else to save us from a celebrity president like Donald Trump than another one — albeit one that is universally beloved and admired?
The case for President Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah Winfrey became one of the wealthiest women on the planet, climbing her way out of poverty, by being one of the most media savvy and pleasant people ever to become a public figure. Her media empire has made her universally known and universally admired. She is well known as a philanthropist and as an advocate for all of the right causes. Then there is this evaluation from Bill Kristol, conservative pundit and fierce never Trumper.
Oprah: Sounder on economics than Bernie Sanders, understands Middle America better than Elizabeth Warren, less touchy-feely than Joe Biden, more pleasant than Andrew Cuomo, more charismatic than John Hickenlooper.#ImWithHer
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 8, 2018
And, let’s face it, the speech was magnificent.
Who else would have been able to invoke Rosa Parks in a denouncement of the sexual abuse of women? Oprah, a master of media, carried it off and thus presented a master's class in how to capture the moment.
On the other hand, politics is a dirty business.
Of course, a downside exists for Oprah were she to run for president. The backlash has already begun, with pictures of her hugging Harvey Weinstein, smooching Harvey Weinstein, partying with Harvey Weinstein.
Considering how the entertainment industry pretty much knew that Weinstein was a beast towards women, the question arises, what did Oprah know and when did she know it? Why didn’t she use her considerable influence to open her mouth and denounce Weinstein before the revelations of his groping, assaulting, and raping women rose to public scrutiny?
Then there is the glaring fact that a lot of Democrats (we presume she would run as one), with actual political experience, may not want to bow out if Oprah Winfrey decides to run for president. She will have to fight for the nomination, get down in the mire, fend off political attacks and give it back in return. Running for political office goes against every ounce of the persona that the media superstar has constructed over the years.
Finally, Winfrey will have to beat Donald Trump. If one person exists, in all the world, who is not impressed by, and thus, not afraid of Oprah Winfrey, it is Donald Trump. His attacks on Twitter and on the stump would be legendary in its viciousness. Some of the attacks will stick and, even if she wins, Oprah will be diminished.
Besides, does Oprah Winfrey want to take the pay cut and the loss of cultural influence that running and perhaps even becoming president entails? One would hope not. She already got a taste of what can happen when she endorsed then-Senator Barack Obama for president and then had to distance herself from him when his popularity took a dip and Michelle Obama made sure that she got nowhere near the White House. Best for her to be the Queen of all Media and not have to put up with the aggravations and calumnies of politics.
