March 26, 2014

"The Other O" in 2016?

A reader who is either paranoid or brilliant or both calls my attention to a Hollywood Reporter story:
She's hitting the road again. 
Harpo Studios, O, The Oprah Magazine, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and William Morris Endeavor Entertainment announced today the Fall 2014 launch of "Oprah's The Life You Want Weekend." 
It's an eight-city arena tour and "transformational weekend" featuring Oprah and some special guests. 
"All of my life I have wanted to lead people to an empathy space. To a gratitude space," says Oprah in the announcement release. "I want us all to fulfill our greatest potential. To find our calling, and summon the courage to live it."

As one of the few surviving men to have experienced being in the studio audience of an Oprah show while free stuff is being given out, he writes:
Oprah POTUS ... I think this is a trial balloon and the Canada tour [in 2013] was to polish her game. Lots of red, white and blue, stars and strong suggestion in that article image! ... I don't think Hillary can get it done in 2016, but we will know better after this November what the general sentiment is toward the real conservatives.  I am closely watching the "other O" for signals and this is a bit conspicuous to me.  On the backside of 2003, I am pretty sure Oprah can get a huge chunk of white-woman votes.

Having spent about 15 seconds in The Presence in 1987, Oprah remains the greatest natural politician I've ever met. 

Personally, I think a giant empire like modern America would be better off splitting the roles of ceremonial Head of State and utilitarian Head of Government, rather than in getting them all entwined. The Premier or whatever we'd call him would, in today's culture, typically be some senior black entertainment or athletic figure: James Earl Jones in the past, Morgan Freeman today, Oprah tomorrow, maybe David Robinson after her. 

Instead, out of that urge, we elected a part time college lecturer to fill both jobs in a mediocre fashion. 
         

81 comments:

Big Bill said...

Her pitch sounds like Erhard or Tony Whatshisname:

"Be All that You can Be in the way that only You can Be It [you special snowflake]."

Chicks love this stuff.

Sounds like Oprah is trying to regain her Middle Class White Lady audience.

You go, girl!

Anonymous said...

Well that would teach you to complain about Obama.

The liberals were trying to turn the Governor General into something like this in Canada. We had had a Chinese woman, followed by a Haitian. If the Tories hadn't got back in we would have a Trans as the Queens representative, but they did and we are back to college profs ourselves.

AKAHorace

Anonymous said...

After two hundred odd years of dumb white men I see nothing wrong with a dumb half white man?

Dave Pinsen said...

It is unfortunate that our presidents are both head of state and head of government. Oprah would be great at meeting with survivors of natural disasters, or widows of fallen servicemen.

Meanwhile, the latest Great Black Hope for conservatives, after Colin Powell and Herman Cain, is Ben Carson. Maybe a national unity ticket of Oprah & Dr. Ben?

Anonymous said...

"... a giant empire like modern America would be better off splitting the roles of ceremonial Head of State and utilitarian Head "

A bit like the Fed! And many other "female run" corporations!

Hacienda said...

I would vote for her. I hope she runs. Better than whatever washed out mechanoid trad Repubs or trad Dems throw out.

Modern day Harriet Tubman.

Anonymous said...

The Onion anticipated this. Well, a version of this: http://www.theonion.com/articles/may-26-1996,10608/

blogger said...

Her I would vote, if only to finalize the point that American politics is a joke.

Anonymous said...

"Instead, out of that urge, we elected a part time college lecturer to fill both jobs in a mediocre fashion."

Well, it could have been worse. Imagine if McCain had won....

Anonymous said...

OT:
Charlotte mayor arrested for bribery. Are there any studies that catalog the demographic characteristics of corrupt politicians?

I just might undertake a Seth Stephens-Davidowitz like project of scraping wikipedia to look into this question.

The Ghost of Taharqo said...

After 3 millennia of dumb Pharoah's what could possibly go wrong? The 25th Dynasty... That's what.

Anonymous said...

Why have Oprah? I am sure the British would be happy to share the Royal Family.

Truth said...

RUH-OH!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z21qvvkZL80

Anonymous said...

OT, but anybody want to see what you have to do to earn an A- in Af-Am studies at UNC?

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2014-03-26/unc-academic-scandal-term-paper-rosa-parks-african-american-studies-afam41-niang-oro-north-carolina-mary-willingham

anony-mouse said...

1/ Sorry Gail, we can't have 2 Black First Ladies in a row.

2/ So the Dem nomination fight will be between two lesbians.

3/ A fight between 2 old women without grandchildren. Yuck.

Anonymous said...

"The 1461 day campaign means that even the head-of-government wants to be seen as compassionate, hip, and 'with it.'"

See: Tony Blair, 1997, the death of Diana for the ultimate modern example.

Anonymous said...

"After two hundred odd years of dumb white men I see nothing wrong with a dumb half white man?"

I hope you are kidding, right? Until recently, the Chief Executives have all been men of great accomplishments, some more than others. We need to go back to the contentious and competitive party nominating battles. Then you won't get empty suits like the last 3. And Parties should go back to withdrawing support if the Chief is a disappointment (Franklin Pierce).

Dave Pinsen said...

Justus should get a speed op/ed column: every time Kasparov has a column in the WSJ, Justus should be given 30 minutes to whip up a response.

Joe Schmoe said...

Isn't Oprahmania basically a Boomer thing? I've never understood her appeal. She doesn't strike me as warm or charismatic.

On the contrary, her mix of consumerism and pop culture psychobabble actually seems vaguely threatening. It's like she's applying all of the modern techniques of media and marketing to make the culture more shallow and less satisfying.

The fat middle-aged ladies who follow her seem equally shallow. It's like they are degraded by Oprah, instead of spending time planning birthday parties for their nieces, nephews and grandchildren or volunteering at the local library, they spend time watching the "Oprah's Favorite Things" episode and going to "aromatherapy" spas.

Her shtick obviously touches something deep within most Boomers but I've never understood her appeal.

An Art History Professor said...

Blacks don't go to art museums ever.

It's fascinating that he decided to pick out that sort of a major to criticize. Art historians: they do chemistry, they do physics. They are conversant with conservation efforts and restoration. The HNIC let his slip show there. He's a ghetto thug.

Anonymous said...

Obama is awesome. You suck h8ter!

Anonymous said...

I'll take her over Hillary or a neo-con GOP candidate any day! I'm not joking when I say I would trust Oprah's judgment of geo-political affairs more than damn near all Republicans (exceptions being Walter Jones, John Duncan, and Rand Paul).

Oprah is a self-made woman who is obviously a business genius. Unlike almost all Presidents and Presidential candidates, Oprah has one of the best records of accomplishment of anyone I can think of.

Anonymous said...

To he guy/gal who said he/she would vote for the
BIG O: do you want to listen to four years of, "See, I call that having a hole in your soul"?

Anonymous said...

I realize it is pedantic of me to point this out, but Obama was a part-time lecturer at a law school, not a college.

Anonymous said...

The liberals were trying to turn the Governor General into something like this in Canada. We had had a Chinese woman, followed by a Haitian. If the Tories hadn't got back in we would have a Trans as the Queens representative, but they did and we are back to college profs ourselves.

Both women were first and foremost CBC apparatchiks. I used to refer to Michaëlle Jean as "Canada's first *babe* Governor General", but to tell the truth the idea of honouring any member of that most useless and sinister social group, the Haitian elite, strikes me as repellent. However well-mannered and well-spoken they may be on occasion.

Anonymous said...

"Dumb white men....like Washington, Jefferson, Adams, the Roosevelts, Nixon"

Nixon might have been clever, but he was the opposite of wise. Putting him in the company of those other Presidents is preposterous. Way to go.

Jason Roberts said...

David Robinson would make a fine President too.

UNC Prof said...

"OT, but anybody want to see what you have to do to earn an A- in Af-Am studies at UNC?"

That was an entire paragraph of captivating prose. I loved the opening "On the evening of December".


Mountain Maven said...

At least Oprah has succeeded at something.

blogger said...

Dr Phil as vice-p.

Anonymous said...

Well, she's really not any less experienced than Obama was when he got elected president.

Dave Pinsen said...

Wasn't Patrick Ewing an art history major?

Anonymous said...

Nixon was corrupt and vile. Doesn't mean he was dumb.

jody said...

YOU get a car!

and YOU get a car!

and YOU get a car!

oprah 2016: everybody gets a car!

CJ said...

Premier is actually a more likely title for the head of government in a parliamentary system. Premier, Prime Minister, Chancellor are titles of the politician who is the everyday CEO of the state and generally also the leader of his political party. Outside the USA, President is usually the title of ceremonial heads of state.

In Canada the Prime Minister is the "CEO" of the federal government and the Governor-General is the ceremonial head of state; at the provincial level, where each province is run by its own parliamentary system, the Premier is the political leader of the provincial government and the Lieutenant-Governor is an appointed ceremonial head of state.

Anonymous said...

So in other words a queen? It's good to know that only 250 years after rebelling against british authority americans are now beginning to realise the system they broke off from was superior to their current government,

Peter the Shark said...

The irony is that as out country has gotten larger (320 million now versus 4 million then) our presidents have gotten dumber - or maybe just more corrupt and manipulable.

That's not irony, that's simple cause and effect. The relative proportion of uninformed and/or stupid voters is steadily increasing and our Presidents are increasingly the sort of person that can appeal to the lowest common denominator. It will just get worse from here on out.

David M. said...

It's too bad Obama didn't pick a Vice President who was a competent executive, closely shared his values, and was very loyal to him. I could easily see him quickly and contentedly slipping into the role of ceremonial head of state and letting the VP run things. After 8 years, we would have a precedent, and would just need one more such ticket to solidify it.

Unknown said...

I say go for it, make Oprah the POTUS. Let's drive this thing right into the ground.

Felix M said...

In the eighteenth century, Britain was governed by a king who was both ceremonial and political. The USA adopted the same model but, over time, Britain split these positions.

BTW, Governor-Generals and Governors are the ceremonial positions throughout British dominions, not just in Canada.

The Anti-Gnostic said...

Nixon was corrupt and vile. Doesn't mean he was dumb.

Give it an effing rest. "Nixon was corrupt! Vile!"

Wars started over pure pretext, bailouts thru $2T of pure money-printing, displacing citizens in their homeland, spying, brutalizing (Ruby Ridge, Waco) ... that's all just policy differences.

Anonymous said...

GWB was the last white guy POTUS.... What this tell about Murica?

Hunsdon said...

Anonydroid at 7:47 PM said: Nixon might have been clever, but he was the opposite of wise. Putting him in the company of those other Presidents is preposterous. Way to go.

Hunsdon said: Look, I keep a long list of things worth whacking Nixon for: the EPA, busing, wage and price controls, kissing off the gold standard, etc.

But in terms of foreign affairs, there's: ending the draft (arguably domestic and foreign), detente (but I would favor detente, wouldn't I?) and "only Nixon can go to China."

I wish we could be like Switzerland, where domestic politics is all that matters, but that's just not how the game has played out, and foreign affairs are hugely important to the United States; and Tricky Dick played is hand pretty well. hey, I could be wrong, but you'll have to convince me.

Cail Corishev said...

At least, unlike a couple of our recent presidents and many of our representatives, she has some experience at running a business.

dearieme said...

Change and Hope.

dearieme said...

The new Ross Perot!

Alternatively, shouldn't the Republicans recruit her immediately?

Hunsdon said...

We're a fundamentally unserious people.

Oh wait, did I say that already?

Harpo said...

Dr. Phil as VP
Dr. Oz as Surgeon General
Suze Orman as Treasury Secretary

It would be an improvement over the current crew.

Chicago said...

Her audience seemed to be zombified middle class suburban white women who spent a lot of money on their hair and whose unquenchable thirst for voyeurism was catered to by the big-O. It's one of the reasons why men in general think women have no brains.

Harry Baldwin said...

And Parties should go back to withdrawing support if the Chief is a disappointment (Franklin Pierce)

One of the things that really greased the skids for Nixon's ouster was that he lost support among the leaders of the Republican Party. You would never see Democrats do this to a president of their own party--see how they rallied around Clinton.

There was a recent news story about how the White House pastry chef resigned because “I don’t want to demonize cream, butter, sugar and eggs,” which was Michelle's policy. It struck me that this was the first resignation on a matter of principle from a White House position that I can remember since Elliot Richardson in 1973. Perhaps there are others I've overlooked, but it seems that when principles are weighed against a prestigious job, the prestigious job wins.

bleach said...

"The Premier or whatever we'd call him would, in today's culture, typically be some senior black entertainment or athletic figure.." We should elect a member of our most socially dysfunctional minority as our national figurehead... Preferably a professional entertainer... And out of the other side of your mouth bemoan the decadence of bourgeois values in America... Do you realize how idiotic that is? Get a real job Steve. Your ideas only have gotten increasingly disordered as the years go by, and are only read by an even more confused collection of a few thousand malcontent adult virgins. But they all have real high IQs, I bet.

Sgt. Joe Friday said...

Two visionaries recognized the dangers of the Oprahization of the country 15 years ago. See:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/379121#i0,p0,d0

BrokenSymmetry said...

"Barack Obama strikes me as perhaps the most intellectually incurious man to hold the office ever - and that's facing tough competition from guys like W."

Obama thinks that Austrians speak Austrian. Case closed.

blogger said...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCHOOL_SEGREGATION_NY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-03-26-12-18-45

Yep

peterike said...

OT but Steve-ish: New report shows New York City schools the most segregated in nation.

To be inserted into the endless file: Do as We Say, Not as We Do.


http://nypost.com/2014/03/26/nyc-has-countrys-most-segregated-public-schools-report/

Franklin K. said...

The only way having a separate visible Head of State and actual Federal Executive would be if the public didn't know about the one with actual power. Otherwise, they would ignore the Head of State and direct all their petitions and attention on him. The Executive would have to be so low-key or boring as to go without notice. Perhaps he could rotate through the appointed jobs available like Chief of Staff, Attorney General, Vice President, National Security Adviser, etc. The minute people grew wise to the situation, it would have to flip and the suddenly ignored Head of State would have to assume real power while the Federal Executive provides the distraction.

Anonymous said...

In Canada the Prime Minister is the "CEO" of the federal government and the Governor-General is the ceremonial head of state; at the provincial level, where each province is run by its own parliamentary system, the Premier is the political leader of the provincial government and the Lieutenant-Governor is an appointed ceremonial head of state.

This Canadian distinction between prime minister and premier is only a couple of generations old. They used to be interchangeable; Ontario premiers, especially, liked to refer to themselves as prime ministers into the 1950s.

The current usage became fixed by the 1970s, but hasn't spread to French, unsurprisingly. They also call Quebec City "la capitale nationale".

dearieme said...

"After 8 years, we would have a precedent, …": it's the sort of thing that happened under the Merovingian kings. But they didn't have a written Constitution gumming up the works.

Jerry said...



The irony is that as out country has gotten larger (320 million now versus 4 million then) our presidents have gotten dumber - or maybe just more corrupt and manipulable.

That's not irony, that's simple cause and effect. The relative proportion of uninformed and/or stupid voters is steadily increasing and our Presidents are increasingly the sort of person that can appeal to the lowest common denominator. It will just get worse from here on out.

--I kept thinking about Bush II (Bush the Idiot), "300 million people... and they couldn't find anyone better than this?" But the above doesn't quite explain it.

Dan said...

She is your imaginary black friend.

Quite unlike the actual black women you meet.

Bottledwater said...

I would vote for Oprah in a heartbeat. I agree with Steve that she's the most socially skilled charismatic person I have ever seen. She came to Canada last Spring and delivered a one hour speech entirely from memory, displaying impressive comic timing, folksy wisdom, and when she read her favorite poem about learning to love yourself, there wasn't a dry eye in the stadium.

She is talented, she is BRILLIANT, and she pulled herself up by her bootstraps to become the richest and most powerful sell-made woman in America, and did so in an extremely competitive, improvisational and white dominated field.

She's someone very VERY special.

Marlowe said...

I doubt Ms. Winfrey could submit herself to the personal degradation required of a candidate. Peter Sellers reportedly once said that people would swim through muck if one put a couple of bob in it. To reach the White House one must wade a moat of filth. Also: no one tells the truth to a rich man or a beautiful woman. Ross Perot fired his campaign manager on this basis.

Dahinda said...

Too bad Gary Coleman died! He would have been on my short list!

Anonymous said...

We elected a guy who practices looking like Sammy Davis, Jr. coming down the stairs to AF One.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Obama is awesome. You suck h8ter!
_________________________

Anon, you are being sarcastic, right?

Anonymous said...

Meanwhile, the latest Great Black Hope for conservatives, after Colin Powell and Herman Cain, is Ben Carson. Maybe a national unity ticket of Oprah & Dr. Ben?
_------------------------

Carson is a true conservative. Powell has always been whatever is in vogue.

Steve Sailer said...

Harry Baldwin: "There was a recent news story about how the White House pastry chef resigned because “I don’t want to demonize cream, butter, sugar and eggs,” which was Michelle's policy. It struck me that this was the first resignation on a matter of principle from a White House position that I can remember since Elliot Richardson in 1973."

That's hilarious.

William Jennings Bryan resigned as Secretary of State in 1915 to protest how Wilson's policy was pushing the U.S. into the Great War, but that just proves what a hayseed bumpkin Bryan was.

Bottledwater said...

The irony is that as out country has gotten larger (320 million now versus 4 million then) our presidents have gotten dumber - or maybe just more corrupt and manipulable.

It's especially ironic when you factor in the Flynn Effect

MKP said...

"I would vote for Oprah in a heartbeat. I agree with Steve that she's the most socially skilled charismatic person I have ever seen. She came to Canada last Spring and delivered a one hour speech entirely from memory, displaying impressive comic timing, folksy wisdom, and when she read her favorite poem about learning to love yourself, there wasn't a dry eye in the stadium.

She is talented, she is BRILLIANT, and she pulled herself up by her bootstraps to become the richest and most powerful sell-made woman in America, and did so in an extremely competitive, improvisational and white dominated field.

She's someone very VERY special."

I love it how we can always tell when Steve's articles get linked to a wider, dumber audience.

Anonymous said...

This Canadian distinction between prime minister and premier is only a couple of generations old. They used to be interchangeable; Ontario premiers, especially, liked to refer to themselves as prime ministers into the 1950s.

There is also the term "First Minister", applying to both prime ministers and premiers. Canada used to have First Ministers' Conferences, where the prime minister would meet with the provincial / territorial premiers.

The current usage became fixed by the 1970s, but hasn't spread to French, unsurprisingly. They also call Quebec City "la capitale nationale".

Quebec IS a nation, in the strict sense of the word. The usage isn't wrong, much as I detest Quebec nationalism and separatism.

Bottledwater said...

MKP wrote:

I love it how we can always tell when Steve's articles get linked to a wider, dumber audience.

So that's how you got here.

Marc B said...

"Isn't Oprahmania basically a Boomer thing? I've never understood her appeal. She doesn't strike me as warm or charismatic".

She is an icon, so her popularity across generational lines remains intact. To boomers, she's the sassy black best friend that they don't ever half to have the kind uncomfortable conversations that would eventually occur in real life. For generations X and Y, she is a bright and accomplished mammy, providing a warming, bosomy embrace during their darkest hour, telling them everything is going to be alright, honey-child.

Anonymous said...

She is talented, she is BRILLIANT, and she pulled herself up by her bootstraps to become the richest and most powerful sell-made woman in America, and did so in an extremely competitive, improvisational and white dominated field.

Is there an industry in which "Affirmative Action" holds more sway? In front of the camera, anyway?

I'll be impressed when a black woman rises to the top of entertainment production sans the camera.

I love it how we can always tell when Steve's articles get linked to a wider, dumber audience.

He might be a regular. We have an Oprah-gusher lurking, we get Oprah-gushes every time she comes up.

Rob Lee said...

Ah, so we have come to it at last... this country finally intends to go full Idiocracy and enshrine President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho; except that he will be a she.

Anonymous said...

Well, Steve, it's as you said:

Last time we elected a legacy president, this time we elected an affirmative action president.

How about next time we hire someone qualified to do the job?

Not sure I'd go with Oprah, though.

Bahnwaerter Thiel said...

Franklin K. said:

"The only way having a separate visible Head of State and actual Federal Executive would be if the public didn't know about the one with actual power. Otherwise, they would ignore the Head of State and direct all their petitions and attention on him. The Executive would have to be so low-key or boring as to go without notice. Perhaps he could rotate through the appointed jobs available like Chief of Staff, Attorney General, Vice President, National Security Adviser, etc. The minute people grew wise to the situation, it would have to flip and the suddenly ignored Head of State would have to assume real power while the Federal Executive provides the distraction."

You're aware that this is more or less what has happened/is now happening in Russia?

A man called Dimitry Medvedev was allegedly the president of Russia between 2008 and 2012. I have zero memory of him saying or doing anything in that time, and I normally pay pretty close attention to the news. He may as well not have existed.

As for President Winfrey, the more I think about it the less preposterous it seems (although it still doesn't not seem preposterous). She has actually made something of her life rather than having it handed to her on a plate like three of the most recent residents of the White House.

George HW Bush turns ninety this year! I wonder if he'll live to see a second son become president, at least eight years after the preceding one left office (probably he won't, obviously, but still). GHWB must have had more "stuff" go on in his life than pretty much any other individual who ever lived.

Bottledwater said...

Is there an industry in which "Affirmative Action" holds more sway? In front of the camera, anyway?

Actually there's not an industry where affirmative action matters LESS. Syndicated talk shows are all about ratings. It doesn't matter if you're black or white, a Harvard PhD or a high school dropout; if you can draw a crowd, you get rich and famous beyond your wildest dreams and if you can't, you get canceled. It's the closest thing America has to a pure free market meritocracy.

Now certainly there was pressure to stop EXCLUDING women and minorities from TV (and everywhere else) & that may have helped open the door for Oprah to enter television in the first place as a young news reader (everyone needs a lucky break) but once she was in the door, she succeeded or failed on pure talent. When her spontaneous emotional style began irritating her much older white male co-anchor, she was demoted from news & dumped on a cheap local morning talk show in Baltimore to run out her contract.

However to everyone's surprise, she had incredible chemistry with her new cohost Richard Sher and began beating the unbeatable Phil Donahue in the local Baltimore market. This lead to Oprah being recruited to solo host a local low budget show called AM Chicago. Everyone told Oprah she was crazy to think she could compete with Donahue in his own hometown. They said Chicago was a racist city.

But Oprah was successful immediately . She was so successful so quickly that Donahue packed up his studio & moved to New York to avoid all the oprahmania. She took AM Chicago from dead last in the ratings to #1 virtually overnight. She arrived in Chicago completely anonymous & by the afternoon, she couldn't walk the street without being mobbed by instant fans.

AM Chicago was renamed the Oprah show & was nationally syndicated where it immediately went #1 & stayed #1 for virtually 25 consecutive years in the face of unbelievably intense & outrageous competition. Add to that, she had the brains to own her show instead of taking a salary & the money kept adding up.

Dave Pinsen said...

I dunno. Plenty of American towns and cities have a similar setup, with a mayor and a city manager.

Big Bill said...

""All of my life I have wanted to lead people to an empathy space. To a gratitude space," says Oprah in the announcement release. "I want us all to fulfill our greatest potential. To find our calling, and summon the courage to live it.""

In fairness to him, Obama's "hope and change" and "we are the people we want to be" rhetoric had a similar effect on all American white wimminz. He was a sexi-male Oprah to them, spewing sexi-male Oprah-speak all through his campaign.

So how are Oprah and Obama different? She gets to go home with a pile of cash after her inspirational 8-city arena tour. He has to govern the USA for eight years.

I would rank Obama's 2004 Democratic Convention speech right up there with anything Oprah has said.

Melendwyr said...

Oprah gives people social approval to abandon the effort to superficially appear rational and fully embrace raw emotion.

It's rather the same draw as letting people get out of their restrictive work clothing and into comfortable sweats. Except with psychology instead of wardrobe.

Anonymous said...

It's rather the same draw as letting people get out of their restrictive work clothing and into comfortable sweats

Pajamas and robes are even more confortable.