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[Vicetrailia]

I'm just curious - what is this based on? Have they actually said that they will spend their time coaching Oprah on how to be a president?

No they haven't said that, not at all, but I think that's pretty obvious especially in the case of Obama. She'll want him to play a major role the entire time, but I'd expect him to pull back the strings because that's just how he does things.

The good thing about Oprah is that she is everything that Trump pretends to be: self-made, generous, charitable, beloved and much more...but where does she stand on the issues, and does she have whacko ones? Democrats don't play that stuff and will ruin her for it. Plus there's her businesses, if there's anything Trump level corrupt it could be bad...Really I don't want her to run because I don't know what her views are.

 

[witchedwiz]

Was skimming liberal sites today and watching the news to gauge the reaction to Oprah's speech. The common theme I saw was that it's not that crazy of an idea for her to run, but she has no political experience.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...hing-you-need-to-know/?utm_term=.a6fa90d41259

Why are some people throwing cold water on this?

Oprah is black, a woman, she comes off as authentic, she has overcome adversity from being poor and became a very successful icon in America. Simply put, she has an inspirational story to tell and has the potential to be the kind of politician America needs.

On the other hand, the traditional politicians she'd be up against aren't very good at what they do nor should they be intimidating to folks new to politics. They've exercised poor judgement and need to bend over backwards to please donors. As a multi-billionaire, Oprah has more leeway with respect to being dependent, kissing ass and begging for money. That's a big reason why voters have turned to outsiders like Pres. Trump. People who have been in office for years have let their constituents down. Someone like Oprah could be the change the country needs and more importantly could be a serious political force if she runs as a Dem.

If Oprah has good ideas in mind and she can tap into people's emotions then it would be a crime not to run in 2020.

Uhm....
I hope it’s a joke..
Sure a president has aides and whatnot, but I would expect a politician of the caliber of president of us to have political experience...
I want everybody to be happy rich etc etc..
True story.. unlikely to happen.. you have to manage internal fund and make decisions that will have different impact on different people..
Obama managed to juggle it very well and that’s why people look favorably at him..
Trump is failing hard from this perspective, and this is the thing can forgive way less than his frequent golfing days...

It’s the same in Italy with movimento 5 stelle.. they have nice ideas... but planning and execution aren’t just there, you need but look on the political news about Virginia Raggi in Rome..
Or you need but look at the presidential candidate from “Movimento 5 Stelle “Political party..
It’s that bad.....
Translate the link in Italian via google translate, read the 7 profiles and prepare for a good laugh..

I appreciate people of principle and of goodwill, but that’s not enough to guide a country, IMHO..

 

[witchedwiz]

While i agree with a lot of what you said, it only shows how people are awful in just choosing actors like that.
And i very much disagree with Oprah being compared to Hilary. Hilary was an awful candidate with a lot of history that could be/was used against her. Oprah is a likeable blank slate, in terms of politics.

I’m not even american and I know of dr.oz, dr.phil the whole debacle about Wakefield..
Blank slate? Not so much...

 

[TheLaughingStock]

Uhm....
I hope it’s a joke..
Sure a president has aides and whatnot, but I would expect a politician of the caliber of president of us to have political experience...
I want everybody to be happy rich etc etc..
True story.. unlikely to happen.. you have to manage internal fund and make decisions that will have different impact on different people..
Obama managed to juggle it very well and that’s why people look favorably at him..
Trump is failing hard from this perspective, and this is the thing can forgive way less than his frequent golfing days...

It’s the same in Italy with movimento 5 stelle.. they have nice ideas... but planning and execution aren’t just there, you need but look on the political news about Virginia Raggi in Rome..
Or you need but look at the presidential candidate from “Movimento 5 Stelle “Political party..
It’s that bad.....
Translate the link in Italian via google translate, read the 7 profiles and prepare for a good laugh..

I appreciate people of principle and of goodwill, but that’s not enough to guide a country, IMHO..

It's sort of the same but Italy is even more extreme.

Traditional lawmakers in Italy were instrumental in causing the country to triple dip into recession. Accordingly, soon they too will have elections with new kinds of people seeking political power due to that as well as other factors. The outcome could pose a systemic risk to the EU. So, I guess it's a similar story. However, Italy is an era that rivals and in some ways exceeds the Great Depression. The body of work on display all over Europe is so bad that in a sense it's impressive.

With that said, principle and goodwill won't be the only attributes someone like Oprah brings to the table. That's obviously selling her short and doesn't capture how she became who she is. In addition, her opponents don't have what it takes to guide a country in the right direction. They're dumb. They're corrupt. The experiences they've amassed over the years doesn't help them where they're lacking. Unfortunately, the truth is that their die hard supporters give them too many chances to right the ship expecting different results.

At the end day, the biggest obstacles to Oprah's success in politics is her whether she believes she can do it. And if people are willing to give her chance. I saw an interview recently where she claims she doesn't have the DNA. If what kills her candidacy is the fact she wasn't willing to try, then that would be true shame for her and the American public at large.

 

[cryptosporidium]

Because a good politician is one versed in political theory and its practice

Can Oprah tell me why a state following the realist school of thought would work towards undermining regional hegemons the world over? Can she tell me about how the west grew from Plato? hobbes, lockes, burke, can she tell me why these peoples inform not only her country but many others?

Does she know history? does she understand historiography and how recontextualizing the past can affect the present?

Does understand how the various legislative systems employed across the western world work? Does she understand how her own legislative system works and why it works the way it does?

Liberal IR theory and economic interdependencies?

A good politician is one versed in all of these and more. Stop electing ignorant populists