Oprah for president! Or not

From The Chicago Tribune:

Count us among the millions who get an over-caffeinated feeling at the new speculation that talk show queen Oprah Winfrey would consider a run for the presidency. She accepted an award during Sunday’s Golden Globes by delivering an inspirational speech. “I want all of the girls watching here now to know, that a new day is on the horizon,” she said, wrapping female empowerment in a possible campaign slogan.

And boom! Twitter went crazy with talk of Oprah for president. Within hours CNN reported that two unidentified friends say she is actively thinking about a run. Winfrey told Bloomberg she didn’t have plans, but her partner, Stedman Graham, told the Los Angeles Times, “It’s up to the people. She would absolutely do it.”

The traditional qualifications of a president are being tested by the Trump presidency. His own TV background as host of a network reality show provided him name recognition, but he got into the race as a real estate billionaire and rage-filled populist. Trump, thus, has done one of two things to the highest office in the land: He’s either altered the political system so that future presidents will be larger-than-life personalities, or he’s assured the opposite: They’ll be very serious politicians.

Ah, but do any of Winfrey’s accomplishments really make her qualified to be president? And how much of a policy wonk is she, really? The last president to make the jump from entertainment to the Oval Office, Ronald Reagan, was no political neophyte. He was a twoterm governor and former union president. Oprah, meanwhile, talked sense to a crazed Tom Cruise when he appeared on her show and jumped on the couch.

The fact is the 2020 Illinois (and other) primaries are two years from now. Plenty of time for candidates of all backgrounds to get organized and make a run for the presidency. As for Oprah Winfrey as a possible candidate, we’ll say the same thing we said about many episodes of her show: She’s worth watching.