The Oprah Takes on The Clintons. Will the media admit American housewives are more mind-numbed than Limbaugh listeners?
By Erick Posted in 2008 — Comments (29) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
The OprahTM hits the ground soon for Barack Obama. Never let it be said The Oprah doesn't have cajones. She's going up against Bill and HIllary in a full frontal assault, wrecking havoc to Mark Penn's thesis of the unbeatable Hillary and wrecking havoc in American households. I hope American politics and families will survive. But will The Oprah and Obama? They are, please remember, going up against the Clintons. As Rush Limbaugh has pointed out, lots of people end up in a bad way when doing so. (O, you got your tax records in order? Prepare to be audited if Mrs. Bill Clinton gets elected)
But here's the thing -- and I think the Godzilla picture is apt: like Godzilla tearing up Tokyo, The Oprah is going to tear up the Clinton play book. Mrs. Bill Clinton, remember, has been trying to frame herself as the sensitive Mrs. Bill Clinton, not the ice queen of Hillarycare. She's been talking up her religion, gabbing it up with her husband, and pushing out the Tammy Wynette stories (despite her 1992 mocking) about how she stood by her man. She's loyal and lovable down to the ankles.
Nonetheless, The Oprah, *the* arbiter of loyal and lovable, has chosen another. And American housewives the world over listen to every word The Oprah says and seize upon every recommendation made by The Oprah. That wavering mass of undecided American housewives that Mark Penn tells us will vote for Hillary because she's a woman would sooner vote for The Oprah's chosen than Bill's wife. Why? Because The Oprah told them to.
Hollywood celebrity endorsements don't amount to much. Just ask John Kerry. But The Oprah is bigger than all of the Hollywood-New York corridor of self congratulating, self-appointed guardians of who the "it person" is combined. The Oprah outranks Sean Penn, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Susan Sarandon, and all of Shirley McLaine's present, past, and future lives combined. She is the modern day Jesus of the secular left and the Patron Saint of the American housewife. If she says "Obama" the Clintons better watch out. But so should Oprah.
There are three things to note here.
Read on . . .
First, Mrs. Bill Clinton is going to have to ditch the lovable, loyal Hillary and go back to the "who do you want in the knife fight" theme — Her ankles or Mr. Metrosexual Inexperienced's feelings. And Obama will get hurt. The Oprah's credibility will be hurt. The Clinton's will portray the secular Jesus as the Democratic Judas. But don't feel too sorry for The Oprah. Bill and his wife may have a pulpit, but The Oprah has 4pm to 5pm Monday through Friday.
Second, the media will have a question to answer. After years of mocking American conservatives as mind-numbed automatons programmed daily between 12pm and 3pm to do Rush Limbaugh's bidding, will they likewise begin ridiculing American soccer mom's in the same way? After all, if The Oprah can command enough loyalty to inflict major damage on Mrs. Bill Clinton using a guy who has zero experience, aren't American soccer moms greater automatons than all the right wing horde? And I bet they will, gently, ridicule to coax these wayward, brainwashed Jesus Oprah freaks back into the Clinton fold.
Third, how many divorces will The Oprah be responsible for? Just as she's wrecking the Clinton Play Book, this move will surely wreck American households the world over. You know and I know that if any woman dares to tell her husband she's voting for Barack Obama because The Oprah told her to, there will be no end to the deserved and hopefully savage mocking the woman receives from her husband. That will naturally lead to the husband's death or divorce. Either of which will be The Oprah's fault. But then look for Mrs. Bill Clinton to remind you that she, at least, stood by her man.
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The Oprah Takes on The Clintons. Will the media admit American housewives are more mind-numbed than Limbaugh listeners? 29 Comments (0 topical, 29 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
The picture is of Hillary when she morphs back into Godzilla mode.
All Oprah has to do is drop a few Alka Seltzer tablets in Hillary's pool and the problem will... dissolve.
NEVER bet against the Big O!
...and don't say "well, maybe, possibly".
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”
But I can easily see her not winning. If she shows ANY vulnerability in the early primaries, Democrats are going to pull a John Kerry and pick someone they think is the most electable.
Democrats crave power too much because they know they have some Supreme Court nominees in the near future to pick.
that Hillary could not win the Dem nomination, but I was talked almost out of that by some very smart people. Now, I really can see her taking the Dem nomination. She just has to shut her mouth.
For the life of me, I can't figure out the hillary support. In addition to being generally shrewish, she's also the furthest of any of the democratic hopefuls from their base on the issue on which they are the most passionate - Iraq. Throw in the fact that they have to understand how energizing her nomination will be to the republicans, and I just don't get what keeps her floating.
I do think it's possible that when push comes to shove they'll come to their senses and nominate someone else. Given that I believe the next president is going to be a democrat, I really wish that Mark Warner had stayed in the race. I could imagine people making the pragmatic choice to hand it to him and of all of the potential democrats, he'd be the least worst.
-exits
. You know and I know that if any woman dares to tell her husband she's voting for Barack Obama because The Oprah told her to, there will be no end to the deserved and hopefully savage mocking the woman receives from her husband. That will naturally lead to the husband's death or divorce.
If I was her husband, I would be so relieved that she wasn't voting for Clinton that I would just nod and agree that her decision was wise.
Totally, completely true.
I have to agree with Ben.
That has to be the best all-around piece you've written in my three-years at Redstate.
***
“Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn't so.” – Ronald Reagan
I'm an American housewife and I much prefer Regis and Kelly. I haven't seen O for at least 10 years. So really, Dan's right. It's actually only a subset of we housefraus.
:)
I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100 percent.
is that Hillary hits back hard and dirty. Oprah takes it personally. Oprah becomes a Hillary hater. Hillary wins D nomination.
I don't think Oprah would support a Republican outright, but she could be notably anti-Hillary through the election.
Worst case scenario for the Rs. Oprah puts Obama over the top. Rs nominate one of their Senators (esp. Fred) and cede their lead in the "Experience" category. Obama makes independents feel good about themselves and fits their desire for change. Obama wins 52-54% and 25-30 states including FL, OH, MO, KY, NM, CO, and NV.
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Donate to the Rs in Close Senate Races through Slatecard
don't you think she would have used it by now?
The couple of hit pieces that have been floated against BO haven't found any traction.
He has already fessed up to teenage drug use and nobody cared....appropriately I might add.
I think if the Clintons had the goods on Barack we would know by now.
It's now being reported he's up by 4% in Iowa.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312245,00.html
think about the timing of when team Gore leaked the Bush-DUI thing.
If the Clintons have dirt on Obama, they'll sit on it until the last minute for maximum effectiveness.
That lady asking McCain a few weeks back about the..rhymes with Witch.
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Proud member of the Barry Goldwater wing of the party ! Pastafarianism anyone?
It strikes me that part of Oprah's appeal to women, such as my wife and my mom, is that she is apolitical. From what I've seen of her show, she is constantly trying to help people, primarily women, improve their lives in various ways. Perhaps endorsing Obama fits into that somehow, but I'm not sure.
Now I've seen the Oprah influence up close. I live in Tyler, Texas, home of Greenberg Turkeys. Oprah put Greenberg Turkey on her favorite things episode a few years ago, and they went from selling a lot of turkeys to selling a TON of turkeys, and became world famous in the process.
But the presidency ain't turkey, and while I'm certain Oprah can sell books and the like, I'm not so sure she can sell a president. This will be an excellent case study, though.
Also, I think we must differentiate the positive effect of getting exposure on her show by having Oprah interview a candidate, from any bump in the polls from an Oprah endorsement. For instance, I'm sure Obama going on Oprah would be of benefit in the polls. But how much would Oprah's endorsement add to that? Has she ever endorsed a candidate before?
Of course, she did endorse Dr. Phil, and that joker laughed all the way to the bank.
of your position and Erick's.
Like most influences in our lives, Oprah will not be a singular factor pushing women from the Hillary camp to the Obama camp.
HOWEVER, for those women who may have been unsure about voting for Hillary and generally unaware of Obama, Oprah's recommendation could be enough to get them to look into Obama and for some of them that may move him to his camp.
Hillary receives broad support but it is very thin. Here in the NYC area I know very few people that support Hillary and of the ones I do they are all professional women. She's going to win that group rather easily. But I believe that the Oprah crowd is another matter entirely.
There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why ... I dream of things that never were and ask why not. - Robert Kennedy
It's fun to imagine the worst for the Dems but I wouldn't bet money on it.
Hillary is a hardened and professional(calculated) campaigner. She's not going to have a meltdown.
Obama has quick wits and stands his ground and so far hasn't shown any signs of collapsing under Hillary's pressure.
Oprah didn't enter the world of public relations yesterday. And she knows that she's chosen well with Obama.
Anyway, when you attend an Oprah/Obama rally you'll want to look under your seat for those fabulous thank you gifts.
They would be considered in-kind donations to Obama and thus subject to the contribution limits.
Oprah fascinates me. You would think that a woman who fought her way out of a dead-end and abusive childhood to build an empire - and an empire that uses its influence to help people through the market (the stuff she gives away is almost always donated by the manufacturer and not paid for by Harpo Productions or Oprah personally), would be a natural Republican - a person that sees that government is not the answer to the ills of the poor or a benevolent "father" that raises you up. Certainly Oprah's success if not attributable to any government program or handout, but on hard work and determination to better herself and succeed despite her past.
So, I disgaree with the earlier comment that Oprah would not support a Republican. If Hillary alienates her enough, maybe she would support the GOP for taking on the Shrew.
Why isn't Warren Buffet?
They have both worked hard and determined their own success. But have either ever benefitted from a gov't program or handout? How about public school?
Most successful people who take an interest in politics do so out of 'enlightened self interest'. Their security grows as their society strengthens.
Whether Republican or Democrat is just a matter of emphasis. We sometimes see completely different problems facing us and even more often see the solutions differently.
Given her perspectives on healing society, I wonder which Republican Oprah would choose?
I wonder if this diary overstates Oprah's antipathy toward the Clintons - I'm not a regular Oprah viewer, but I caught part of an episode the other week (perhaps a repeat, but certainly reasonably recent) featuring Bill, and she certainly seemed pretty chummy with him.
Obviously she's backed her horse for now, but she's no amatuer, as others have pointed out, and she has to know that Obama's facing an uphill battle. I'd be surprised if she doesn't throw at least some of her firepower behind Hilary if the primaries pan out the way most people currently seem to expect.
is pretty damn good. hmmmm... What has she failed at?... She has a hard time staying thin, but otherwise I can't think of a thing. Smart, rich, charismatic, mega-successful: that's a nice list to work from, and Hillary will want to be able to get Oprah's help if she wins the nomination.
Now this is conjecture, but I think an Oprah endorsement actually might innoculate Obama a bit against Clinton dirty tricks. Hillary will think long and hard about the Oprah blowback if they take out Barack at the knees. And Oprah is smart enough to consider that and endorse Obama partially in order to reduce the chance of Clinton going underhanded to beat the crap out of him in the primary.
I posted about this a couple times in the past but Erick writes more eloquently. Oprah has plenty of closet male viewers too. My Dad is one of them after hearing a daily Oprah update from my Mom. She is a true force. Her audience is not pigeon holed as mind numbing followers. They are empowered women. Just the continual exposure and endorsement will cause women to look at why they should vote for Obama rather than skipping over him.
I doubt the Clintons would be able to discredit Oprah in any way or would they want to. She has the respect of her audience. It will be real interesting to watch what Oprah's playbook will be for Obama.
Ask not what I can do for my country, ask what my country can do for me. Washington Elected Elite
....will be what Mrs. Clinton's strategy is for the Oprah/Obama alliance. How will she neutralize this thing? Is that scandalous info on Obama going to leak out eventually? I don't believe Mrs. Clinton is going to give away this nomination without a fight, and eventually she is going to have to take down Obama. The thing about the Clintons is that they can smear people and get away scott free with it.
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”
That there is some secret scandalous information on Barack Obama? The Clinton Campaign vehemently denies having any such information.
Seems that Novak's "source" is much likely to have come from the other side of the aisle or even from the Obama campaign.
There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why ... I dream of things that never were and ask why not. - Robert Kennedy
...they have "files" on every one of their opponents. They're quite Nixonian. Robert Novak is regarded as one of the most prominent, connected journalists in Washington, and his sources typically are impeccable and run deep. He said that his sources were "unaffiliated high-level Democrat operatives", and that they confirmed that such information existed and Hillary possessed it. We may never know what it is, but I believe SOMETHING is there.
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”
The key thing Hillary has going in the Dem primaries is her "inevitability." Puncture that and you could have good old fashion political brawl, amogst the brawliest of the brawlers.
Personally, I've always been more concerned about facing Obama as the Dem nominee than Hillary. Her negatives ain't going anywhere but up. His negatives can go down. While his policies are pessimistic, his demeanor (at least in the MSM) is optimistic. That optimism was a key component of Reagn's appeal, and part of what has been missing on the Republican side of the aisle since he departed. I don't see that optimism in any of the leading Republican candidates (even Fred, my current preference). If Hillary's inevitablity is punctured, we could face Obama in the main event, and I can see Oprah puncturing that inevitability.
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill