I Liked Oprah Better Before She Got Political

There was a time when millions of women wanted to be the BFF of Oprah Winfrey.  She was successful beyond belief, had the same great looking beau for years and despite all she seemed down to earth, real.  One of the girls.

She was never political until Barack Obama ran for President. I can understand why she changed.  Lots of us did.  We wanted so much to believe in this young man, for him to succeed, to bring the country together.
Race wasn't a factor to enough of us who did not share his to make him the resounding winner.

But what happened to Oprah?  Is it because she gave up her daily gig to promote her own TV network and has found it wanting?  Is it because her last movie, The Butler, has been a box office bust?  I don't know, but suddenly she is on a racist kick.

Okay, maybe she believes the President has so many detractors because of his race.  To be sure there are  people of that persuasion.  But they are not the cause of his problems and by suggesting so on foreign soil is a disservice to both herself, the country and the President.

The President's problems are of his own making.  Attitude, personality traits, management style,  inexperience and unpopular policies are contributing factors. It's disingenuous for her to suggest it's all due to his race.

What makes it even worse she blames that attitude on aging whites and goes on to say the problem of racism won't be over until we all die!  Well, Oprah, I'm in no hurry to oblige you.

I also don't think my generation is the problem as much as the behavior of the younger set in places like Chicago where the whole city lives in fear of the racial gangs.

You don't hear those like Alan West, or Ben Carson or Herman Cain harping on race as the cause of their successes or failures.  They talk about policy and that's where the discussion should be.

Look at yourself and what you accomplished regardless of your race.  Are you now going to blame the lack of success of your network on race?  Please.  Don't.

Look at the President you defend.  He had a questionable educational background by his own hand in not releasing his transcripts.  His mother was an avowed communist.  His preacher was one you chose not to be affiliated with. Many of his associates had less than stellar backgrounds when it came to patriotism. His work experience was no more than being, for a short time at that, a community organizer.  He came to office on a wave of hope. He ran into trouble because he cared more about furthering his ideology rather than the country.  People finally noticed as it began to affect them personally.

Had he been white with that background he'd never have become President. That his agenda is in trouble has nothing to do with the fact that he isn't white.

The country has forgiven him more than deserved.  To accuse that same country of racism in the beholding of his problems is just not true.  There was a time I thought Oprah was above brandishing the race card under false pretenses.  I guess I was wrong.

Oprah, Maybe YOU Ought To Read The Books You Recommend!

If Oprah wants to go into politics it would seem she has some of the necessary qualifications. The willingness to recommend something even if she, personally, hasn't read it!

Just like in Washington where staffers read pending legislation and give their bosses a synopsis thus suggesting how they should vote. If it turns out to be a bad piece of legislation the caveat seems to be "I voted for it based on the information available (from members of my staff who read it.) If they did. Or did they merely skim it and pass on a less then accurate summation?

A mere two years ago Oprah was embarrassed and angry when she found a book she had strongly recommended turned out to be fiction rather than non-fiction. Remember Jame Frey and A Million Little Pieces ? The story about a young man's decent into and ascent from the world of drug and alcohol addiction. It was replete with bone chilling detail and characters that should have made one suspect. Why the author didn't present it as a brilliant piece of fiction is still a puzzle.

Next there was Love and Consequences a piece of fiction represented as a memoir that wasn't even written by the same person!

Now there is one of the greatest love stories the book club has ever come across. Angel at the Fence: The True Story of a Love that Survived. This one is such a pat man-meets-girl-man-loses-girl-man-gets-girl, it's a wonder that even with the briefest of skimming one might be suspicious! A man in a concentration camp meets a young girl on the other side of the fence who gives him apples to sustain him until he is moved out. Years later, after a blind date, they discover their past connection while reminiscing. It's a wonderful, heart warming story. The problem is it's not true!

My, oh my. It reminds me of the old saying, "Please Mother, I'd rather do it myself!" It also reminds me of the recent turmoil we had here regarding whether certain major pieces of writing should be on school's required reading lists. I've yet to learn if those opposed had actually read the books to which they objected.

I would guess Oprah has little time to delve deeply into the books she recommends. As with the politicians and their legislation, she depends a great deal on staff. If it were me, however, putting my name on a recommendation that could boost an author onto the best seller lists, I'd want to make darn sure it was warranted.

Having made my living in public relations for a good many years, I know a bit about "spin" and embellishment. So this an across the board recommendation to a person who's name is considered trustworthy, if they want it to remain so, and the staff that serves them, read the book - and if anything looks to be a little much, check it out. If you don't have the time, don't make the recommendation.

The same goes to the politicians. The least you can do for us is read what you're going to vote on or make darn sure your staff does!

As for the authors; what the heck is wrong with good fiction anyway? A good read is a good read!

Oprah Winfrey - Heavyweight

When I read the AP article about how upset Oprah is with herself I could empathize. So can just about every other woman in the world who has trouble maintaining a medically acceptable weight. So many of us belong to the "Sisterhood of the Yo-yo"!

The ads at the end of the article added insult to injury. They were Drop 13# with Acai, Dr. Oz Diet and Simple 2 Lose. Ha!

I had a health professional brighten my whole day awhile back. We were discussing my issues and the weight I've put on since vacation and Thanksgiving. "You're not going to obsess over losing a lot of weight are you?"

"Well, I'd like to shed 10 or so pounds and the first of the year brings my annual stint on the South Beach to accomplish that," I replied.

"Perfect." It's a good, sound plan, it works and it's easy.

It was music to my ears! Yes. I'd really like to lose more than that 10 pounds but realistically I realize I probably won't. And that's okay. Even that amount will help keep the blood pressure and cholesterol in check; the physical therapy and treadmill which is part of it, will help keep the old cardio vascular pumping at peak and I won't need to beat myself up.

I think the same goes for Oprah. As long as she's been a star she has had, shall we say, a zoftig physique. I think it bothers her far more than it does her fans. To confess that she's had to starve herself to achieve the weight losses she's had is no more healthy than being severely overweight. She worries that she's to be a role model and she let people down. Nonsense. Promoting something that is unachievable by most and certainly unsustainable isn't what role models are about.

All the special diets and pills in the world won't help anyone maintain their weight. Most of them don't work. If you already have high blood pressure you probably put yourself at even greater risk by taking them.

What does work is a modicum of discipline and realism. When you find yourself gaining, just stop and take it back off. Right away. I've done it and if I can anyone can.

True, as a "senior" no one expects me to look as I did in my 20s. The important part is that I don't either. Oprah, in her 50's is what she is. She doesn't have to get back into her Calvin Klein's to be healthy or please her fans. She doesn't have to look like Cher. All she has to do is be okay with herself and know that a whole lot of women like her just the way she is.

I'm always going to have those extra pounds I'd like to lose. So will Oprah. It's a female thing. We just need to be realistic, like ourselves and worry less about what we imagine others may be thinking. We're probably wrong anyway. That's another female thing. We're full of them!

Oprah is a heavyweight all right but it's for all the good she has done, her phenomenal accomplishments. That's a figure that cannot be measured in pounds!