Human touch

“YOU get a car, you get a car, you get a car and you get a car!”

This is one of the most famous phrases from the 21st century. It was uttered by Oprah Winfrey, pictured, at the peak of her fame, on her eponymous show.

Her TV show was famous for her movie star guests and the deep but casual interviews.

Oprah had a knack of being able to open “the vault” and have her guests reveal the most intimate parts of their lives.

It was no doubt heavily stagemanaged and provided famous people with an opportunity to speak directly to their movie ticket-buying public. But Oprah was unique. She was trusted by audience member and guest alike and this made for quality daytime viewing.

Stars such as Tom Hanks made it their business to return to the show on a regular basis. She built these strategic relationships, like a politician creates a network of supporters.

In time she became famous for the amazing giveaways she was able to leverage from her own fame. The beneficiaries became the studio audience.

From hand cream to CDs, televisions and overseas trips. This all led to the famous “you all get a car” giveaway that saw Oprah shouting ecstatically to her audience. Even she could not quite believe the true buying power of her own fame.

The generosity changed a few lives on the day. It created one of the greatest memes in the history of the internet and it cemented Oprah Winfrey’s reputation as the single most influential media player in the history of the world. At that time.

Earlier this week Oprah was awarded the Cecil B De Mille Award for lifetime achievement. This honour is awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press. Oprah is the first woman of colour to be given this recognition and she took to the moment with both hands and delivered ered a measured and powerful speech. peech. She spoke with passion, with ith a sense of gravitas and was s the embodiment of exceptional industry and social cial leadership. The next day? y People want her to run for President. Who can blame them?

Would Oprah h make a great President? nt? Who knows?

Would she be e any worse than the one tweeting from Pennsylvania Ave right now? Probably not.

But President nt of the US is a full ll time job, it’s not t just one speech. .

The fact Oprah can deliver a great speech and then n be hurled into the position of potential candidate tells us more about our desperation than any daytime interview could ever expose. Yes, Oprah is an amazing person. Yes, she is articulate and an excellent business person. She can speak to a wide demographic, be calm under pressure and (as we saw in her interview with Lance Armstrong) she is prepared to ask the hard questions. But what about economic policy? What about healthcare? What about her ability to work with the UN? Does she want the job, or did she just want to make a great speech? Why y are we hoping pg celebrities will become politicians? Is it because the politicians are so disappointing, or is it because these are faces with recognisable names? The celebrity candidate is not a new phenomenon. History shows, it rarely works.

Peter Garrett spent years on stage railing against politicians then he ran for office. First as a candidate for the Nuclear Disarmament Party and then as a candidate for the ALP.

The power and the passion didn’t make a big impression. He walked away with few runs on the board and a little black book of names who will not be returning his calls.

Locally, our two directly elected mayors demonstrated that you need more than name recognition g to change a culture.

Bein Being elected is one thing, but survivin surviving and thriving is a complet completely different skill-set.

Ther There are exceptions that prove th the rule; Ronald Reagan was pre president for two terms. But Ronnie had been neck deep in politics well before he ran for the White H House. He had been Govern Governor of California, just like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Opra Oprah deserved the lifetime achieve achievement award. She has contribu contributed over and above to other liv lives throughout her career. The rec reception to her speech is a remind reminder we want our political leade leaders to start listening again. Th They need to remember that re representation is not about d division. It is not about blaming the other. Real leadership is working for the betterment of all, in instead of the benefit of the few few. That’s how you get a Preside President. Ross MueMueller is a freelance writer and director

Ross MUELLER Twitter: @TheMuellerName