President Oprah Winfrey

After delivering her well-received speech at the 75th Golden Globes on Sunday [January 7, 2018], Oprah Winfrey has been the subject of talk for who the Democrats’ 2020 presidential nominee should be. Some say, Why not Oprah Winfrey?

This has caused many to respond. Articles. Videos. But, my attitude is: After the Republicans got a former actor (and ex-president of the Screen Actors Guild of America), as well as a billionaire businessman and reality-competition television host, nominated and elected to the presidency of the United States…well, of course the Democrats can run Oprah Winfrey. 

In 2017, there was talk that maybe the Democrats’ 2020 nominee should be someone who is also wildly popular in entertainment, like Beyonce. 

Why the fuck not?

Let’s not pretend the people of the United States have rigid standards for just who may or may not be president.

Let’s not pretend we have lofty standards. 

Ronald Reagan.

Donald Trump.

Both, prior to their nominations and their elections, were laughed at and dismissed as virtually impossible.

Both 40th U.S. president Ronald Reagan and 45th U.S. president Donald Trump come from the Republican Party.

Is there any reason to say that the Democratic Party is not allowed to deliver their established, showbiz superstar to the presidency of the United States?

Okay…

None of this has to do with what a President Oprah Winfrey would offer. It doesn’t say anything about her politics. Well, let me correct myself. After her speech, some took quickly to writing or talking about her politics notably from her past—especially while she still had her talk show—and even ABC News ran a report on whether Oprah Winfrey may run. 

In 2007, Oprah Winfrey embraced and endorsed Barack Obama on her nationally syndicated talk show (1986–2011). Many figured she was a key influencer to Obama eventually upsetting Hillary Clinton to win the 2008 Democratic nomination and later getting elected the 44th president of the United States. That Obama’s campaign was really put on the map with that good-as-gold Oprah Winfrey endorsement.

Let me mention this: I am not seriously thinking about Election 2020 as many political junkies are. I like this crazy notion of taking elections one cycle at a time. It doesn’t mean I don’t at all think ahead to 2020. But, we just entered the year 2018. We have midterm elections. Included in that are not just the 435 congressional seats and about one-third the U.S. Senate but also 36 states—including the Top 10 most-populous—which are holding their gubernatorial elections. So, I’m not excited to want to jump ahead to 2020. With what went down in 2016, particularly on the Democratic side with their rigged presidential primaries, and my distrust of the party apparatus, I am not interested in getting myself excited for the Democrats. I am not wanting to go there. What happened in 2016 affects my perception of this political party, which is very negative, and it does impact how I will handle my votes going forward. But, just for the sake of a discussion, and it is harmless to have one here on Progressives Chat, and whether I want to take this President Oprah Winfrey speculation seriously…I would have no problem with her actually running. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump are the reasons why. Would I actually vote the nomination to Oprah Winfrey? At this point, and with what information I have, I would estimate the chances are 95 percent or more that I would not.

I usually post new threads on Mondays and Wednesdays, and with weekend threads on Fridays. But, due to the timing of this, I am making an exception with this “President Oprah Winfrey” blog entry here on Tuesday [January 9, 2018]. There will be no new topic on Wednesday [January 10]. I wanted to cover this without waiting an extra day. (Next week will be a return to normal schedule. Comments are good seven days from a topic’s posting.) And, besides, Jimmy Dore does have a response. As does others appearing below.