Oprah for President, or not

It was bound to happen. Given the American Democratic Party’s desperate desire to find someone to beat Donald Trump the next time out, there is no surprise that those in charge would turn to a showman of their own - actually a showwoman of their own, Oprah Winfrey.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Oprah. She seems like a genuinely nice person. She, unlike The Donald who started with a pile of daddy’s cash, is a genuinely self-made billionaire. She is also a decent actress, a good talk show host and bright enough to have started several successful businesses. Also, again unlike Carrot Top, she can speak in complete sentences and follow the thread of her own thought to a reasonable conclusion. But president? Not so sure.

Call me old fashioned but I’d prefer to see someone in charge who has a modicum of experience in politics, diplomacy, economics, you know, the sort of things that can help when running the world’s most powerful country.

Her skills at interviewing and getting people to open up on camera and discuss their innermost feelings live on national television with an audience of about ten million looking on, stood her in good stead as the host of the highestrated show of that type ever. I’m not so sure, however, that that sort of approach will fly when dealing with Vladimir Putin or Kim Jong-un. “Tell me Vlad, what are you really thinking deep, down inside? I can feel a lot of pain. Stealing the Crimea from Ukraine I think was just a cry for help.”

The other problem, that nobody touting her chances seems to have noticed, is that an Oprah run at the nation’s top job would not fly with half of that nation. The United States is more bitterly divided along political, economic and racial lines than it has been for many years. Compromise went out the window with the rotary telephone. If a huge swath of the American public were not ready for a black president and balked at the first woman who had a realistic chance (yes, I know, Hillary irritated a lot of people not just because she was woman) what will they do faced with an intelligent, black woman who has more money than Trump?

Still, the most important drawback to Oprah carrying the Democratic banner into the next election is what it would mean in the long term. The Republicans running a loud mouthed egomaniac who came to the political forefront by hosting an inane reality show where his biggest contribution was to shout “Your fired!” may have impressed enough of the great unwashed to put Trump into the White House but it won’t be fixed by electing another media darling, no matter how many people buy the books she recommends.

At this rate the next campaign might as well feature a political version of The Amazing Race. I can see it now. Donald Trump and Mike Pence will leave Washington on bicycles at the same time as Oprah Winfrey and Bernie Sanders. They will have to make their way to Arlington cemetery where they will board hot air balloons and fly to Iowa. Once in Iowa, they will have to figure out where the nearest polling booth is using a coded map. The first couple to get to the booth will receive all of Iowa’s electoral college votes. All of this, of course, will be featured live on Fox News and CNN.

With fifty states and a handful of territories voting, the entire election could be spun off into a mini series that would likely top the ratings for an entire year. “Tune in next week as our candidates for President and Vice-president raft down the Colorado river. Will Donald Trump finally dump his running mate? Will Oprah give up on her desert diet? Don’t miss episode 26 of Election 2020 with Lester Holt here on NBC.”

In the mean time, one can only hope

SOthat Oprah has as much sense as she is often credited with and tells the Democrats thanks but no thanks. aw your article this morning about the heating oil delivery problem. It is not only Ultramar. I am a Sonic customer and it took over 2 weeks of nagging to get my last delivery, and I am on automatic delivery. We weren't out but it was close. They are dispatching from the Montreal area instead of using local agents. It's like it has never been cold in the winter before.

KARL HUNTING

Cecile Muhire and Carl Mathieu Neher are a delight.

But our thank-you goes far beyond.

Since we started our fundraising two years ago to bring a refugee family to Ayer’s Cliff, there have been many, many people who have attended our several fundraising events, given donations, and provided venues. We would like to thank the town of Ayer’s Cliff for their never-ending support, the Way’s Mills Quilters, and the media for helping keep our project alive. Currently, we have over $16,000. Our goal is $25,000. Thank you.

Our family is a family of four from Iraq, who fled to Turkey over two years ago. They include a little girl who is five and a little boy, two-years-of-age. They are very anxious to come to Canada as life has become difficult for them. The Quebec government has approved them and now the federal government is doing their processing.

So we hope it will not be long before we will be able to welcome them here. Again, we, the Massawippi Valley Refugee Sponsorship Group, thank everyone for their generosity and support in helping us bring our family here.

RESPECTFULLY, MARILYN LAWAND AYER’S CLIFF