As his impeachment trial begins, embattled Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich appeared on "Good Morning America" and "The View," letting slip that he "considered" Oprah as a possible candidate for Obama’s Senate seat.
Does this make Blagojevich more credible? Does it reassure voters horrified by his alleged ethical and possibly criminal failings? Who hasn’t he considered? It certainly does make him a canny manipulator of the news cycle because his "revelation" made headlines. Hell, I’m talking about it now.
Oprah, of course, was uninterested. She’s easily as powerful as a couple of senators, and anointed Barack President, so what do you expect her to do? Take a demotion? Talking to Gayle on Siriux XM, Oprah said "I would have to say: where would I fit it in with my day job, my mid-day job, my night-job, my radio-job, my magazine job?"
But let’s not forget that Oprah still aims high. "I think I could be senator, too, I’m just not interested. I think I could be senator, too." I give her credit for having healthy self-esteem. And she has enough staff. But whether Oprah could switch from making everyone’s dreams come true on a daily basis to telling people no from the Senate’s hallowed floor is another thing altogether.
