Oprah afraid of Palin? Update: Oprah responds
posted at 10:33 am on September 5, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
Perhaps the Carney meme of Sarah Palin being afraid of the media is a case of projection. Drudge reports that Oprah Winfrey will not invite the first woman on a Republican ticket to be a guest on her show. Why? She’s apparently afraid of the damage it will do … to Barack Obama:
“Half of her staff really wants Sarah Palin on,” an insider explains. “Oprah’s website is getting tons of requests to put her on, but Oprah and a couple of her top people are adamantly against it because of Obama.”
One executive close to Winfrey is warning any Palin ban could ignite a dramatic backlash!
One might assume that, given Winfrey’s demographics. The largest part of her audience is white females over 55 years of age. Almost four times as many women watch as men, although she does get about 1.7 million men a day to view her show.
How will that audience react to a freeze-out of Palin? Many want to see Palin speak to their issues, and might assume that the most successful woman in American entertainment would welcome the opportunity to make that introduction. Instead of making a business decision to do so, though, Winfrey has apparently made a political calculation that Palin will outshine the man she supports for President.
Obviously, someone is afraid of what will happen when Palin meets the American people through the media. From what I see, it’s not John McCain or Sarah Palin who fears it.
Update: Oprah has issued a statement in response to the Drudge story:
The item in today’s Drudge Report is categorically untrue. There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. At the beginning of this Presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates. I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over.
TMZ notes that Obama has appeared on Oprah twice, both before he announced his candidacy for the White House.
Blowback
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Oprah: Only politicians whose names start with “O” allowed.
jgapinoy on September 5, 2008 at 10:34 AM
Maybe Oprah’s hoping she can just give Palin a free car and she’ll go away.
MrScribbler on September 5, 2008 at 10:35 AM
Oprah is a hack and her success is proof that PT Barnum was right.
NoDonkey on September 5, 2008 at 10:35 AM
And yet another reason to like Palin.
chb03c on September 5, 2008 at 10:35 AM
awesome pic….
Orca only wants history made if there is a (d) by their name….
Good luck selling your inane internal monologue on why you won’t grant her a forum to your non-minority audience Orca….
You just became a self-funded ad for your bias.
sven10077 on September 5, 2008 at 10:35 AM
Has she been invited on that pithy,trend setting and deeply introspective program “The View” yet?
jeanie on September 5, 2008 at 10:35 AM
Racist…
d1carter on September 5, 2008 at 10:36 AM
O NO
thedudesblog on September 5, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Yet another person who claims to be for women but is, in fact, only for a certain subset of women.
Oprah should be ashamed. Seriously.
SimplyKimberly on September 5, 2008 at 10:37 AM
FightThePalinSmears.com is talking about this.
faraway on September 5, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Oprah. More black than woman.
snickelfritz on September 5, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Doesn’t Obama’s appearance then count as a political contribution?
And, if Palin does appear, she can expect Oprah to sabotage her.
Nosferightu on September 5, 2008 at 10:37 AM
ZING!
ballz2wallz on September 5, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Yep — and Clarence Thomas, too.
The Oprah fans I know are disillusioned with her and some are Hillary hellions. If she wants to complete her tumble off the pedestal, I say, “Timber!”
Terrie on September 5, 2008 at 10:37 AM
I lost respect for Oprah a long time ago. Now I think she is a coward.
But Sarah Palin doesn’t need Oprah anyway. She can ride her own wave with no problem.
B.O. on the other hand needs Oprah desperately if he even wants to remain relevant at this point.
pilamaye on September 5, 2008 at 10:38 AM
Well, what do you expect from someone who has their entire career vested in victimhood?
Truth to power, indeed.
BacaDog on September 5, 2008 at 10:38 AM
She has to be opposed to any woman who could be more powerful then herself.
Kendrick on September 5, 2008 at 10:38 AM
I’ve never been impressed with WInfrey or her ideas and this just proves me right. Perhaps the conservative part of her audience will get the message now.
On the subject of Code Pink last night, has there been any news as to who slyed them in the door? My guess is the media
clnurnberg on September 5, 2008 at 10:38 AM
Make Oprah beg like Oprah made Letterman beg.
Jim Treacher on September 5, 2008 at 10:38 AM
Drudge also reminds that she wouldn’t have Clarence Thomas on the show either.
Oprah sure is accepting of all ideas! /s
ckdexterhaven on September 5, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Bounce
and in Ras. its back to where it was before Obama’s bounce.
jp on September 5, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Pope-rah gives away cars and pats herself on the back. Palin helps you earn a car, then pats you on the back.
Limerick on September 5, 2008 at 10:39 AM
I don’t think the View will be welcoming either. Frankly, let them boycott Gov. Palin. It will highlight their snobbery even more.
/sarc on
You go Girls!
/sarc off
JohnnyD on September 5, 2008 at 10:39 AM
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!
Wait, I’m not supposed to cheer everything Oprah does?
LibTired on September 5, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Zero Credibility for the other “O”
jp on September 5, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Damn Straight!
ronsfi on September 5, 2008 at 10:40 AM
just told my wife that this is it…..she HAS to cancel the subscription to O’s magazine and this is the last straw….Republicans should organize boycotts agains all of Oprah’s advertisers and use the same intimidation tactics of the left….it is time to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!!!!
SDarchitect on September 5, 2008 at 10:40 AM
And left the audience to pay the taxes on the cars (not to mention title and registration). Not that a mostly free car isn’t nice, but it wasn’t entirely free.
Wethal on September 5, 2008 at 10:42 AM
No. I saw a clip yesterday where Joy Behar after listening to Elizabeth and Sherri (who liked the pick) said “come on, you can’t replace one [female body part] for another!” (meaning Hillary with Palin). Whoopi was (thankfully) silent.
Mr_Magoo on September 5, 2008 at 10:42 AM
Sarah Palin’s a Christian. Oprah’s an occultist. Thus, there’d be lightnin’. Oprah can’t handle it.
S on September 5, 2008 at 10:42 AM
The magazine and its narcissistic covers has always been a joke to me. I’d rather keep my BHG subscription, more info and less hype for the money
clnurnberg on September 5, 2008 at 10:43 AM
“…but some animals are more equal than others.”
Akzed on September 5, 2008 at 10:43 AM
Mr_Magoo on September 5, 2008 at 10:43 AM
My mother-in-law is in her 60′s and is a pretty loyal Dem. She was a Hillary supporter and has never been 100% sure about Obama. She’s always liked McCain (for obvious reasons), and was considering crossing over after Obama snubbed Hillary. As of yesterday afternoon, after seeing the Palin speech, she told my wife she is almost certanly going to vote for McCain.
She is the demographic McCain needs to flip in order for us to win – over-55 women who were Hillary supporters who don’t necessarily care one way or the other about things like abortion. Judging from her reaction, I’d say he’s made some good inroads and Palin may have sealed the deal.
crazy_legs on September 5, 2008 at 10:43 AM
Color over Gender..
DaveC on September 5, 2008 at 10:43 AM
Oprah is the new US Magazine.
Both are going “Down like Frazier!”
econavenger on September 5, 2008 at 10:43 AM
How does this one sound? It’s racism. She WILL support the black man, but she WON’T support the white woman. I thought she was all about empowering women. I guess we’d be wrong on that score if a black person is involved in the equation.
THIS is the reason I can’t stand her. Women say all the time that she does so much for people, like the school she set up in Africa. I say bulls**t. She’s clearly just another race hustling POS, just like I thought.
RWLA on September 5, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Sorry. Racist/sexist
Mr_Magoo on September 5, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Oprah previously pissed off many of her fans in the primary. Now she will ad insult to injury. Do not forget that in A M E R I C A N courts, it is a jury of 12 Sarah Palins that determine guilt or innocence. The jury of popular opinion may no longer be willing to give the likes of Oprah and other media elites the benefit of the doubt.
Apparently FOX is reporting serious backlash by readers of US Weekly… are we witnessing the rumblings of a true revolution?
singlemalt_18 on September 5, 2008 at 10:44 AM
It technically is a violation of FCC regulations for the big O not to have the Barracuda, according to equal time. But of course, that only applies when dems want access. I wonder if dems realize that with the fairness doctrine, O would be mandated by law to have Sarah on
ConservativePartyNow on September 5, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Oprah has always been about empowering Oprah. Period.
clnurnberg on September 5, 2008 at 10:45 AM
If Oprah refuses to have Palin on her show then she will be called a racist.
:)
And Democrats want to revive the Fairness Doctrine?
Kokonut on September 5, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Yeah and Oprah knows that Palin knows that Oprah is a New Spirituality occultist. She’s a sharp Christian and would expose Oprah like she exposed Obama.
econavenger on September 5, 2008 at 10:46 AM
But that’s implying that Oprah feels shame, SimplyKimberly. People like her don’t experience such petty and inconvenient emotions.
thekingtut on September 5, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Oprah having Sarah Palin on would probably go about like that Rosie O’Donnell-Tom Sellick interview did. That was really the turning point in Rosie’s PR cocooned image as “The Queen of Nice” and exposed her for the far left hack she was.
Oprah may be a little more self-aware than Ms. O’Donnell is and knows that if Sarah was on her show she A.) Wouldn’t be able to contain herself from going on the attack to protect Barack, and B.) Knows that she’s already been hurt in the ratings among her core female audience by advocating Obama over Hillary Clinton. Better not to have Sarah on and let people assume the worst about Winfrey’s biases than to actually have Palin on for an hour and prove it through a million YouTube clip hits.
jon1979 on September 5, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Eh, we’ve all been getting her name wrong, then…it’s Opalin, pronounced Palin. Those indian words can be tricky.
MMW on September 5, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Why would Palin WANT to appear with Oprah? I mean, why? It’d be like putting on dirty clothing…
Ick. Oprah is vastly overrated and I do mean, vastly. I think I’ve watched her “show” maybe twice, perhaps four times in the history of the broadcast.
Same with The View (though I’ve never watched that “show” through in one broadcast, mostly just seen snips and YouTube aspects of it — no interest, none whatsoever, in watching).
I think it’ll be great if Palin just stands apart and above all of that. Let Oprah have her snit, it’s just securing the closed-society mentality of yet another Liberal Snob (or, the Liberal Elite).
S on September 5, 2008 at 10:46 AM
.. and to a lesser extent, Gail..
Steadman.. she still needs him to pick hers and Gail’s dry cleaning..
DaveC on September 5, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Oprah’s decline will be traced to the day she threw her support behind Barack Hussein Obama. If she refuses to permit the Arctic Fox on her show or, alternately, if she has Sarah’Cuda on the show but tries to sandbag her, she will be dethroned – and quickly.
ManlyRash on September 5, 2008 at 10:47 AM
So Harpo doesn’t want Gov. Palin on the show?
That’s OK.
Gov. Palin will just take the time to boost GOP candidates for Congress along with the ticket.
I can think of four or five seats in Pa. alone where a couple of Palin visits might be enough to kayo incumbent Dems (including Traitor Jack Murtha).
GOPers need to focus on the opportunities that Gov. Palin’s performance has created and utilize it to smack down Fancy Nancy and Dingy Harry.
either orr on September 5, 2008 at 10:47 AM
This a preview of the coming Race Card sh–storm. Obama is behind now. Just remember that when you read everything in the coming days.
rockmom on September 5, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Palin needs to go on Red Eye and be done with it. That’s the only talk show worth watching.
robblefarian on September 5, 2008 at 10:47 AM
I’ve got a very successful female friend who is an Oprah NUT. It’s always made me privately question her faculties. I’ve ticked her off in the past her by jokingly stereo-typing Oprah fans. I think I’ll send this to her with the words “EPIC FAIL” in the subject line.
I know Oprah has billions, but I hope she ends up feeling this in the pocketbook in a very big way.
Redhead Infidel on September 5, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Another superb example of the ‘Palin Effect’.
Where ever Sarah Palin goes, hypocrisy is revealed. Thusly, idiots like Oprah don’t know what to do with themselves.
Best week evah!
Urban Infidel on September 5, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Right on the money
ConservativePartyNow on September 5, 2008 at 10:48 AM
She, like Us magazine, will get bitchslapped by her viewers…and create a huge problem for Obama.
Serious miscalculation on their part-to a white person, this smacks of racism, the subtle affirmative action type.
Like I said, if she’s such a weak candidate, what are they afraid of?
But, I’m hoping she sticks to her guns, bwahhhhaaaahhaa!
hippie_chucker on September 5, 2008 at 10:49 AM
I can see Sarah appearing on the Ellen Degeneres Show. Ellen is sweet to all of her guests and generally tries to steer clear of politics (she’s no dummy and got burned once).
I remember watching Jenna Bush’s appearance on Ellen’s show and Ellen treated her kindly – even had her call up the Prez so Ellen could say hello.
ManlyRash on September 5, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Cone of Silence.
Lunkinator on September 5, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Her (Oprah) choice, her call.
Her viewers are mindless, anyway.
Sir Napsalot on September 5, 2008 at 10:50 AM
All about the wimmens unTIL the Messiah came along. What a sorry sister.
As for a backlash? No doubt, no DOUBT, noting the little article in the biz section of our local fishwrap. Optometrists are fielding thousands of calls asking
!!!! How ’bout THEM apples! The spokesman for the industry is like, “With it like this now, I don’t know what it’s gonna do to us if she actually wins!”
Yeah, Oprah. Go ahead, bar the door.
tree hugging sister on September 5, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Somebody enlighten me, why would SARAH! even want to be on Oprah’s show? And don’t even mention The View [shudder]; even if Behar isn’t contagious (questionable), the clips I’ve seen here tell me no one in their right mind watches it
Shay on September 5, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Steadman.. she still needs him to pick hers and Gail’s dry cleaning..
Great Stedman video from Robert Smigle of “Ambiguously Gay Duo” fame.
Prepare for liquid to squirt through your nose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBlBO4ppYc8
RWLA on September 5, 2008 at 10:51 AM
RACISM!!!! RACISM!!!! RACISM!!!!
(Isn’t that what we’re supposed to scream?)
Sugar Land on September 5, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Her “O” is bigger than his “O”.
Kokonut on September 5, 2008 at 10:51 AM
oprah.com has a contact form. Let it begin.
dish on September 5, 2008 at 10:52 AM
Honestly, I think even if she were to get the invite, she should do one of her ‘cuda “thanks but no thanks.” Going on after being originally dissed gives Oprah too much credit and power. It also will show she’s more “one of us” than one of the celeb tools that bow to Oprah.
Pasalubong on September 5, 2008 at 10:52 AM
You see, Sarah Palin represent the kind of CHANGE Oprah and Obama don’t want you to believe in.
Sir Napsalot on September 5, 2008 at 10:53 AM
Oprah is dead to me. After reading Drudge about disregarding Clarence Thomas and Sarah Palin, it annoyed me even more.
Oprah is Obama.
You see, she is very arrogant and snoby.
Remember that fiasco with the brand Hermes in France. The store closed and she wanted them to open the store for her and the clerks refused. They said we don’t care if you are the Queen of England, the store is closed. She then said in her show, that the incident was a “Crash” moment. She experienced racism. Give me a break. I am tired of people bowing down to her as if she is God, like Obama.
Barf.
I hope her ratings plummet to unspeakable lows.
jencab on September 5, 2008 at 10:53 AM
Oprah had better pay attention to the US magazine subscription story, and recall what happened to her ratings after she endorsed O! in South Carolina…
There has to be a way to publicize this, thus putting pressure on Her to either book Palin or appear to be a …
RAAAAAAAAACISTS
OOPS, I forgot only white, conservatives can be racists…
RocketmanBob on September 5, 2008 at 10:53 AM
That is what I meant previously when I wrote, “there’d be lightnin’.”
S on September 5, 2008 at 10:53 AM
Come on we all know why Oprah dosnt want sarah on her show and it has everything to do with the color of Sarah’s skin .
the exacts same reason what BHO has over 90% of the black vote .
Mojack420 on September 5, 2008 at 10:54 AM
I was teasing my wife about this a little while ago. She mentioned that Garrison Keilor just wrote an article in which he tiptoed very carefully around the gender issue, as opposed to his usual snark regarding anything GOP. He infuriates me beyond end, but is apparently taking a business approach on Palin. I imagine being in a cold weather state might also influence his calculation a bit. We’ll see if his resolve remains firm as the poll numbers start to shift.
a capella on September 5, 2008 at 10:54 AM
I rarely if ever watch Oprah. I used to, but lost all respect for her during the last election. The total love fest she laid on for john Kerry juxtaposed against the disrespectful sneering interview she aired with GW turned me off for good. Not so much her political opinions, which were patently clear, but the fact that she used her program to promote her bias. It was sickening. If ‘the one’ had ever held even a tiny bit of interest and curiosity for me (which he never did btw) knowing that Oprah was his biggest supporter would have quickly headed me off in another direction. I distrust ANY ‘celebrity’ that uses that celebrity to try to influence me with their own personal views. And Oprah leads that list!
dustoffmom on September 5, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Yeah… I’m still waiting for her to set up a school in, say, Kosovo. Oh… but that’s mostly white. Silly me.
crazy_legs on September 5, 2008 at 10:54 AM
In a matter of weeks, Oprah’s going to find her show being picked by only BET…at 1:00 am.
Oprah was smart enought to get the h*** out of Wright’s church in the mid-1990s before anyone caught wind of her association with Wright and those hateful racists. But she’s not smart enough to handle this one. What the heck; I’m sure she has enough dough. I hope she gets torched.
BuckeyeSam on September 5, 2008 at 10:54 AM
I would luuuv it if some enterprising reporter asked Oprah to explain why she dissed Thomas. Seriously. Someone do it. That’s just as a big a story to me.
Pasalubong on September 5, 2008 at 10:54 AM
0+0=0
Akzed on September 5, 2008 at 10:55 AM
Now what pray tell would Oprah be afraid,
what could possibly worry Oprah to the
point that she wouldn’t want SarahCuda
on her show!
canopfor on September 5, 2008 at 10:55 AM
Oprah is certainly entitled to pick and choose who she wants on her program but given her role among women in this country, to exclude the first woman nominated by the GOP would be hypocritical on her part and call into question whether she really gives a damn about women in general or if it has been only power and money.
grdred944 on September 5, 2008 at 10:57 AM
oprah.com has a contact form. Let it begin.
Already done.
RWLA on September 5, 2008 at 10:57 AM
You couple this racism, with Rasmussen’s poll that finds Palin is more popular than Obama and Neilsen’s numbers that show more people watched Palin and McCain (it’s on Drudge) Oprah is making a huge mistake and the Democrats are in big trouble.
AYNBLAND on September 5, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Oprah has revealed herself to be a dedicated, institutional, liberal this election cycle…
All of the non-liberal women in this country need to boycott her products, show, and advertisers.
Not for the action of supporting Obama, which is her right; but for the discrimination against a typical white woman who doesn’t share her ideology!
Who knew she would become the Kieth Olberman of women’s talk show hosts, and brook no dissenting points of view…
RocketmanBob on September 5, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Hahaha! Can’t argue the math!
tree hugging sister on September 5, 2008 at 10:58 AM
WHAT?! Why? Why should Sarah Palin appear on DeGeneras’ show? A show I’ve never watched and don’t intend to at any time in the future.
Why even imagine such a thing? Why in Heaven’s name should Sarah Palin guest on that show? Jiminy.
S on September 5, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Inviting Palin is a commercial imperative. There’s just no way around it without serious damage to her following. I’m betting Oprah will soon come to her business senses, grit her teeth, and invite her on the show.
petefrt on September 5, 2008 at 10:59 AM
I’d say that Sarah Palin’s HUSBAND should or might consider appearing with Degeneres.
S on September 5, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Palin would never do it anyway, but it’s nice to see the hypocrisy published so all the world can see.
Mr_Magoo on September 5, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Go to her website (oprah.com) and click on the link at the bottom, middle of the page (“E-mail Oprah”) to send her an e-mail requesting Palin be on the show.
——
If Palin does not appear on Oprah, see a bigger backlash than from Hillary supporters.
albill on September 5, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Oprah is like every other liberal. They do not belive in freedom of speech if it disagrees with their twisted concept of reality. Besides it is not her position to have people on her show that are not subserviant to her aura. plus it could have a part in the flushing of the first black candidate down the bowl of life.
volsense on September 5, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Just remember… be respectful. We don’t want to give her any excuse to say “it’s all that gosh-darned right-wing hate speech!”
crazy_legs on September 5, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Please get this urban myth settled. Oprah did not give those cars away, GM donated them. When Barry starts to tank watch her have him on again. Don’t forget the Chicago connection between O and O.
Jeff on September 5, 2008 at 11:01 AM
There’s no way any of the family will appear on any of these shows. Which is why she is Sarah.
Mr_Magoo on September 5, 2008 at 11:02 AM
She should have just stayed out of politics like she always did before “The One” came around.
This is going to hurt her with her main audience.
Cause and effect Oprah.
Geronimo on September 5, 2008 at 11:03 AM
True Colors. Rejected the great Clarence Thomas — A great African American success story? Now this? Oprah is a disgraceful phony. PERIOD
marklmail on September 5, 2008 at 11:04 AM
Guys, c’mon, how much cooler would it be if Sarah just disses Oprah even if Oprah relents and invites her? Screw Oprah! Don’t demand her have Sarah on! It’s us vs. the elites, and Sarah dissing Oprah would be a huge uppercut.
Pasalubong on September 5, 2008 at 11:04 AM
It’s like Christmas in September!
US weekly losing viewers.
MSM accelerating it’s decline.
Oprah mask drops and reveals a racist.
Kai on September 5, 2008 at 11:05 AM
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