Oprah and Palin to meet next month
Sarah Palin, image from Wikimedia.
It is confirmed, by the Chicago Sun-Times and the New York Times, Sarah Palin will appear on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” next month, the very day before her book “Going Rogue” hits the shelves.
Needless to say, people have some pretty strong opinions about this turn of events. Oprah is arguably the most powerful force in the media when it comes to giving publicity to products and businesses. Oprah also campaigned heavily for Barack Obama, but now she will interview a woman on the opposing presidential ticket the day before her books hits the shelves.
Selling power
Needless to say, anything mentioned on Oprah gets huge publicity. The only thing that can cause more hype than Oprah’s show is controversy. Here we have both. And this is no installment loans versus instant payday loans sort of controversy. This is pitting two very vocal groups with very different opinions against each other.
Understandably, many of Oprah’s viewers are angry that she would use her amazing powers of publicity to promote a book by someone they view as and enemy of sorts. Some of Sarah Palin’s fans believe that Palin is “lowering herself” by being on Oprah’s show. Clearly, any Palin fans who are opposed to her being on Oprah’s show don’t understand how much publicity this will give Palin’s book, “Going Rogue.”
Details, details
Oprah will interview Sarah Palin on the episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that airs Monday, Nov. 16. Sarah Palin’s book “Going Rogue” is scheduled to hit shelves Nov. 17, and right now you can pre-order it from Amazon for $9.
I predict “Going Rogue” will sell out after Sarah Palin goes on Oprah’s show. I also predict that “Oprah” will have an unusually high number of viewers on Nov. 16. When you meld the fans of these two you get a pretty broad cross-section of America, plus I think a lot of people will tune in just to see what happens.
So what if Sarah Palin wants to promote a new book on Oprah? I don’t see what the problem is. Just because she stepped down from her position as governor and was part of the losing party during the presidential campaign, does not mean she is anything less than the ambitious woman who ran this escapade in the first place. Regardless of their opposing political opinions, both Oprah and Sarah understand the long journey of hard work and commitment behind solid achievements. I think Sarah Palin has a lot of good to share, despite what others have to say about all the colorful events that took place in her life over the past year. She is still human, an ambitious woman still on the go no matter the ups and downs.
Not since Dan Quayle has a vice presidential candidate been as unqualified and unsuitable for the office of vice president. Now Sarah is being touted as the next great Republican politician and is a leading candidate for the Republican nomination in 2012. Nothing has changed since 2008 and Sarah is still not remotely qualified for national office. I hope that Oprah conducts a serious interview that will show Sarah for what she really is — an uninformed politician who is willing to embarrass herself, her party and her country to further her unbridled ambition.