Oprah Winfrey did a lot to help her fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama become President of the United States. She broke her own rule about staying out of politics by officially endorsing him. She gave material and financial support. She had him on her massively popular show, refused to book one of his opponents because she didn’t want to provide “a platform for any of the candidates,” and then produced his half-hour infomercial the week before the election. In her own studio space.
And most memorably, she joined the throng at Chicago’s Grant Park on Election Night, weeping and swooning over her new messiah:
She was also quoted as saying that night: “I’ve been sort of, like, pulsating all day, and now I feel like I’m, like, in full vibrational mode.” Barack Obama: No batteries required!
Hey, guess what? Now her support is as shaky as she was on Nov. 4. The Huffington Post reports:
Oprah Winfrey may have been instrumental in getting Barack Obama elected president, but now claims she’s on the sidelines.
“I have not said one thing about this political situation and don’t intend to,” Winfrey said. “Everybody knows that I was a big campaigner for Obama and I still am. I think he’s doing a great job. I think that it’s the toughest job in the world with the economy and health care and all of that.”
I’m not sure if that counts as “one thing” or not. And neither is she.
Winfrey made her comments Sunday night at the premiere of “Precious” at the Toronto International Film Festival. Winfrey is the executive producer of the movie, adapted from Sapphire’s novel “Push.”
“Precious” tells the story of an overweight, illiterate young woman who goes through some unimaginable hardships but eventually feels redeemed. Winfrey acknowledged that she was also the victim of these types of domestic and social abuses to some degree. Yet she said it doesn’t matter who is in office when it comes to finding solutions.
“I think that the message of this film is that those problems are not solved by government,” said Winfrey…
Did Obama’s #1 fan just say that the government can’t solve all your problems for you? Sounds like somebody missed a memo.
(Hat tip to the Greenroom)
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Is there hypocrisy or decceit here somewhere?
tips@deceiver.com
Yea, she took the time from her daily Hostess cupcake hunt to waffle on Barry Achmed when earlier she was: “I’ve been sort of, like, pulsating all day, and now I feel like I’m, like, in full vibrational mode.”
Maybe it was the sugar rush before, but now that the Hostess item are on the endangered species list in Santa Barbara County, she’s coming down from the sugar high and realizing that maybe she made a mistake. Kind of like her Book of the Month thing.
She was duped, like so many other people, by the One, you really can’t totally blame her…
By the way, whoever would have come up with such a stupid nickname like that?
Remember when LBJ said during the Vietnam War that if he lost Cronkite, he lost the American public? Maybe this is a sign of Obama losing Oprah and then losing massive public support! I’m keeping my fingers crossed anyway.
I really don’t see how that is hypocritical. She says she still supports him and thinks that he is doing a good job. Her comment about government being unable to solve those problems is not a direct stab at Obama, but rather a comment about government in general (notice she said it doesn’t matter who is in office).
If you’ve got something better:
tips@deceiver.com
Careful Simon, it sounds like you’re trying to encourage thoughtcrimes.
I see hypocrisy. She’s basically saying that it’s great to support Obama when all he represents is a bunch of platitudes, but when he shows his true colors she bails. So we should all follow Obama and vote him in, except when he actually does what he came to do. Granted she’s not throwing darts at an Obama photo on her show, but it still irks me.
Fair weather fiend. She’d never admit to a mistake like that, not after the push, I mean SHOVE she gave El Cleaño to get him where he’s at.
Come on, she pushed the grilled KFC like it was all about to expire and didn’t feel the slightest pang to sob at the feet of PETA, begging for forgiveness. They returned the non-favor by keeping their beaks shut. Normally that would take an act of Obama, but considering Doprah’s clout, doing so was the wise thing to do. The only thing that can defeat her is a total collapse of the world economy. At least that’s one thing I can look forward to.
The last time I heard Oprah speak was during a peak wave of channel surfing. It was the closing segment, and she was asking people to consider “cutting back”. This from a person bragging about how badass it is to have a private jet to a throng of green grads. At that moment, I swore I’d never entertain anything she had to offer unless it was a tornado-inducing about face on her hypocrisy.
Hock yer plane and we’ll dance. Until then, your personal policies are dead to me.
There is still so much residual hypocrisy here it isn’t even funny. Great Oprah, you supported Obama. Fine. But why? Because he is part-black? I am Greek and there wasn’t a chance in Hell I was voting for Dukakis. (Full disclosure: Agnew wasn’t a credit to my nationality either.)
I am sure Oprah can’t wait to pay the entirety of her taxes to support the Administration’s economic plans (eschewing tax management plans suggested by her army of accountants.) and will of course utilize the public option of health care “reform”. Right?
Why in the name of God we give the faintest damn about what a celebrity thinks about politics is beyond me. Oprah, go back to telling women to love themselves for who they are whilst losing and gaining a metric ton, dispensing relationship advice even though you have been engaged since the Crimean War, and promoting green living between trips on your $42 million Global Express XRS jet. “It’s great to have a private jet”!
GT: you hit it out of the ballpark!
She chose to use her show to get him elected. Now her stats are dropping badly, especially among her core audience which is middle aged white women. So she’s conveniently becoming ‘non political’. Pfeh
It’s like she is the wolf in sheeps clothing and all those that watch/listen/read to Oprah are the mindless sheep. I can not get over how people are suprised about the lies and half truths out of this mans mouth. Come on people, he is a chicago politician. What more can you expect.
I would love to know if anyone has heard the status of Obama’s illegal aunt? Has she been deported yet? Or are we paying for her and her health care now?
Ln, last I read Auntie had a hearing in early 2010. Plenty of time to get her permanent residency. While those of doing it the legal way, wait and wait. And pay taxes.
Oprah is so far removed from reality, she is the last person to be telling us what to think and how to vote.
Oprah has always been a joke. First time I saw her I broke up laughing. No matter who or what she has on her shows, shortly after they speak, she circles it back to “let’s talk about me”. It breaks me up. She wanted someone of her coloring in the whitehouse, she has him and she has enough money to cushion her from all the bad things that are happening. And does she honestly believe that NO OTHER PRESIDENT HAS FACED THESE PROBLEMS? I hope obama doesn’t get a hang nail, we could go into crisis mode.
“The government can’t solve all our problems” is something that Obama himself has said dozens of times. So I really fail to see the connection you’re trying to make unless– oh wait– it’s based on a completely fabricated notion that Obama thinks government is the answer to all our problems? Even though he says the opposite?
Pieces of work, you are.
I wouldn’t be too hard on her. She’s another emotional Hollywood entertainer who was swept off her feet by the charming Barack. My read on her “government can’t solve that problem” is that she is trying to play kiss and make-up with the part of her fanbase that was put off by her activism for Obama. Hollywood is silly and not worth serious consideration.
“Yes, our greatness as a nation has depended on individual initiative, on a belief in the free market. But it has also depended on our sense of mutual regard for each other, of mutual responsibility. The idea that everybody has a stake in the country, that we’re all in it together and everybody’s got a shot at opportunity. Americans know this. We know that government can’t solve all our problems – and we don’t want it to. But we also know that there are some things we can’t do on our own. We know that there are some things we do better together.”
Barack Obama, speech, Aug. 7, 2006.
OH GOD WHAT A COMMIE, RIGHT FELLOW DITTOHEADS?
Sounds to me like she wants the audience she lost, back. But isn’t going to happen.
More government is not how to “live your best life.”
I don’t know, when I got my XM radio this summer I listened a bit to Oprah Radio and her BFF Gayle was going on and on about how she doesn’t understand why anyone would not want “free healthcare!” What are these people angry about, she wondered. Push, push pushed it. Then talked about her latest stupid diet.
Anything out of Oprah’s mouth is hypocritical. She will not use her show as s platform, yet her show title is her first name so when you saw Oprah and Obama together she was using her show as a platform. Not to mention all of the diet crap that has come out of her mouth. While I give her props on holding baby showers for the wives of deployed soldiers and giving away cars and room makeovers, she lost me completely when she backed the “liar”. I think she is finally realizing that not all publicity is good and that not all housewives who watch the show are Democrat.
Ln, last I heard was that his aunt was still living in public housing, and living off of our tax dollars.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/04/judge_allows_ob.html?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed6
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=6160299
I was reading an editorial on the US pulling its proposed Polish and Czech missile defense sites, when a comment on the article drew my attention.
Could this possibly be true? That the educational background of the Under Secretary fo State for Arms Control contained zero military background and a BS thirty years ago in Early Childhood Education?
Yeah, its true alright. Perhaps the worst appointments of the Obama.
Unlike Geithner, Rangel, and the other eleven Obamans that failed to pay at least $1M in personal income taxes, she must’ve paid her taxes, because she was confrimed.
http://watchdog.net/p/ellen_tauscher
@franglosaxon: Suck it. So you can quote a speech, in which Obama claims to espouse individual responsibility and freedom. How does that change the policies he’s pursued like a toddler on a cupcake SINCE THEN? If anything, you highlighted the hypocrisy, you didn’t refute it. And “Dittohead”? Ooh, burn, we’ve never heard that one before. Oh, wait, we have–in 1989.
@GT: Brilliant. Utterly brilliant, and I mean that sincerely.
Anybody who doesn’t see the hypocrisy here must have missed the first paragraph of the post. She shilled for the Great Half-White Hope, then slammed her door in the face of anything that resembled equal time, claiming with a straight face that she didn’t want to “provide a platform for any of the candidates”?! Granted, she’s not exactly considered a hard-news outlet, but that copout was the very definition of disingenuousness. She’s all atingle for The One, until his numbers drop, and THEN she’s off like a prom dress.
She’s a racist, self-infatuated hippo in lipstick, people.
I think Oprah is purposely low keying things concerning Obama right now because her unabashed support of him caused her to lose a significant number of her viewers. She still loves “The One” but she wants to be number one.
Obama will be a lame duck president in 14 short months….congress is going to be slaughtered in 2010….it’s been really amazing to see the Dear Leader reveal his true agenda. He campaigned for 2 years on a middle of the road, post partisan, post racial, kinda guy. In reality, turns out he is just another typical tax and spend liberal like all the rest. The Healthcare debate is lost for the Democrats and with all the hate they showed for protesters there is chance for a middle of the road deal. They will have no choice but to use reconciliation to pass a life long healthcare bill (historicall used for year long budget items)and then it will be all over for Obama….. I dont agree with whackos like glen beck on alot of stuff, but Obama and crew have proved him right just about everytime which is itself scary
Hey Simon, I’ve sent my tips to tips@deceiver.com (just sent one today) and I’ve never seen them used. So, yes, I have better things, but they are not being used. So, I don’t think that defense is working.
Thank you Beige! You said it. Arbysauce, I WILL blame brainless Hollywood twits for blindly following Obama. Not thinking things through and not knowing all the facts is dangerous, and just as blameable as knowing and still following. Ignorance is no excuse for shilling for Obama; if you don’t know enough info about him, don’t advise others to follow him. Especially if you’re someone others look up to.
And franglosaxon, quoting a politician’s speech is just about the worst source for real information about their actions. Do you go around quoting George Bush’s speeches and defending him by his own words? Or do you only trust Obama and liberals at their word?
Okay guys, I’m not disputing that Oprah IS a hypocrite. My question is aside from what we already know about her being a hypocrite, how is the referenced material showing more or additional hypocrisy?
She states she was and still is an Obama supporter. As for her statement about the new movie “Precious,” she said it doesn’t matter who is in office when it comes to finding solutions.
“I think that the message of this film is that those problems are not solved by government.”
Barrack not too long ago just gave a speech to shoolkids across the nation in which he told them inumerable times that THEY are in charge of their destinies. Doesn’t seem contradictory to me.
So, aside from bringing up what happened during the election, where’s the hypocrisy from THIS article?
I had to chime on on this one. As I was reading this article a song came up on my ipod where a certain lyric fit so well with Obama and my disdain for him.
“We think you’re a joke
Shove your hope where it don’t shine”
From Santigold’s Shove it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez2wYCRjYyY <-Hear it on Youtube
Most brainless twits in Hollywood follow Obama because that is what is cool. Anything that is not Bush, is cool. Look at twit and twat. They wore a shirt for Palin and as soon as Obama won, they wore an Obama shirt. They could care less about the actual policies and decisions he makes, they just think he is cool. All those rock star shirts I see people wearing with Obama on the front is proof of that. Ask them one thing he stands for and they cannot name it.
Why of course Oprahfried Nation demands Obamacare; syringe-loaded toxic-botox, plastic-fantastic silicone and 500 pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes a month is an expensive habit for sisterhood’s whiny victims.
franglosaxon-
yeah, and Obama said he’d use public financing for his campaign. He said the stimulus would reduce uneployment in several months. He said the public would get at least five days to view legislation before he signs it. He said he wouldn’t hire lobbyists.
How’re these working out, eh?
How about instead of reading what he’s said, you, oh, I don’t know, take that with a grain of salt AND LOOK AT WHAT HE ACTUALLY DOES?
Beige, fierce girl, you are my favorite pitbull. Do you wear lipstick?
franglosaxon:
“And while I am talking to you mothers and fathers, I give you one more assurance.
I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again:
Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.
They are going into training to form a force so strong that, by its
very existence, it will keep the threat of war far away from our
shores. The purpose of our defense is defense.” FDR, 1940
So your point is exactly what now?
MC Mom, every chance I get.
And thanks.
I want to know how a degree in early childhood education is a bachelor of science degree. It is important, yes, but shouldn’t it be considered a soft science (at the most) like the social sciences? That undersecretary better have some advanced degrees in something like international relations.
Part of what irritates me about Oprah supporting Obama (eagerly or not) is that it seems to be more because of his skin color than because they actually have similar experiences. The man has had everything handed to him on a platter with affirmative action (if he was able to get into Harvard on his own and do well, why hasn’t he released his records?) and grew up in a relatively diverse place, with a history of discriminating against aboriginal people more than Africans/African-Americans. Oprah, like her or not, actually did work her way up from the bottom, and succeeded despite racism and sexism (probably had some help from the affirmative action policies, but you don’t build an empire like hers without some serious business sense and guts). I probably have more in common with Oprah than Barack. Her lifestyle shows that while she may be fairly generous, she isn’t going to be supporting major wealth redistribution and massive taxation of the rich to fund social programs. If she truly understood what Obama’s policies require for implementation, she wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole. But clearly, that doesn’t matter, because he has dark skin.
I read an article today where an academic claimed that blacks can’t be racist because they aren’t in a position of power. Apparently prejudice is relative. Funny, I thought that bigotry was bigotry, regardless of who or how it was expressed. Does this mean that all the crazy Klansmen aren’t racist since most of them seem to be on the fringes of society? Because I am pretty sure that they are still supporting awful, evil ideas. I think that the Nazis were racist prior to winning a majority stake in the German government, and that neo-Nazis are still hateful bigots even if they are a tiny minority. I know, I know, the Nazi thing is overused. But my point is more about how their degree of power didn’t alter their fundamental beliefs, and that repugnancy doesn’t ebb and flow with the level of support one enjoys. If you hate people because of an unalterable physical characteristic, you are a bigot, regardless of your place in society.
And the inverse is true: if you support someone on the basis of an unalterable physical characteristic, you are a bigot. Support or hate the inside, not the outside!
Effin’ A, AllyKat. Beautifully said. That blacks-can’t-be-racists canard is some of the most self-serving shite ever to hit the ground, and for exactly the reasons you describe.