Makes Me Sick, But: In Defense of Oprah…

Oprah Winfrey is being hypocritical where Sarah Palin is concerned.  But she has every right to do so.

When John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate and she became an instant celebrity, she also instantly became the perfect guest for Oprah Winfrey.  It’s impossible to deny that.

However, Oprah won’t invite Sarah Palin on her show until after the election.  Why?  The reason is clear:  Barack Obama is Oprah Winfrey’s preferred candidate, and she understands the promotional power of her own show.

The hypocrisy is found in Oprah Winfrey’s statement in response to the reporting of this news on Drudge Report:

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.

Oprah has already hosted Barrack Obama on her show, and has campaigned quite directly for him.  She is taking a position in this election, and it’s clear which side she’s on.  Yet she’s claiming that her show is free of support for any particular platform.

Oprah Winfrey is a liar.

And Oprah Winfrey is completely within her rights to do whatever she wants.

To be clear, I wish that she would have Sarah Palin on her show.  It would be an incredible opportunity for the McCain-Palin ticket to connect with female voters all over America, and the results would almost certainly be positive for the Republican party.  Furthermore, it would be a huge win for Oprah, as ratings for such an interview would certainly be stratospherically high.

Oprah knows this, and has no interest in anything that will promote the Republican party.  And while “freedom of speech” is the law in the United States, Oprah is running a private business that is not subject to such Constitutional requirements.

The end result?  Oprah is biased.  Oprah is a liar.  And Oprah is totally within her right to be those things.