American Billionaires by The New York Times Editorial Staff

Author:The New York Times Editorial Staff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
Published: 2020-08-22T00:00:00+00:00

Oprah 2020? Democrats Swing From Giddy to Skeptical at the Prospect

BY ALEXANDER BURNS AND AMY CHOZICK | JAN. 8, 2018

WASHINGTON — With a booming speech at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night, Oprah Winfrey, the billionaire media entrepreneur and former television talk-show host, launched a thousand fantasies for Democrats: Of a historic campaign to put a black woman in the White House. Of a celebrity candidate, known for her big-hearted optimism, taking on a reality-show president defined by his thirst for combat. Of a presidency, some joked, where everybody would get a car.

Ms. Winfrey’s longtime partner, Stedman Graham, stoked the mood in a newspaper interview, suggesting to The Los Angeles Times that she would “absolutely do it” — with the caveat that such matters are “up to the people.”

There was no more official signal on Monday from Ms. Winfrey, 63, as to her interest in the presidency. She has disavowed any ambition to be a candidate in the past, though she has told associates in recent months that she wants to play a part in bringing the country together, two people briefed on her thinking said.

If Ms. Winfrey’s ambitions are unclear, the sometimes giddy reaction to her speech at a Hollywood awards dinner underscored the unfulfilled hunger among Democrats for a larger-than-life leader to challenge President Trump.

With no obvious front-runner for the 2020 campaign, Democrats appear likely to spend the next few years grinding through internal disagreements over policy and identity in a long contest for the nomination. There are thorny disagreements in the party about how bluntly liberal its agenda should be, how boldly to confront Mr. Trump and how to balance the task of turning out core Democratic voters with the desire to win over disaffected Republicans and independents.

In the imagination of some Democrats, Ms. Winfrey might offer an easy way out of those problems. She inspires crucial groups for the party — women and African-Americans — and alienates few. She has cast herself in American culture as an avatar of optimism, not defined in ideological terms. Having made a career out of preaching the values of empowerment and inclusion, she represents in some ways a natural counterpoint to Mr. Trump’s proud pugilism. Senior Democrats in Washington said on Monday they had received no signal from Ms. Winfrey that she hoped to seek the White House.

David Axelrod, the former chief strategist for Barack Obama, said Ms. Winfrey was a figure of unique political potential, with “a boundless capacity for empathy and a preternatural ability to communicate powerfully and authentically — as we saw at the Golden Globes.”

Mr. Axelrod questioned, however, whether Ms. Winfrey would be the right fit for 2020: “Would she want to submit herself to the unforgiving, relentless and sometimes absurd process of running for president?” he wondered, adding: “Will there be hunger in 2020 for someone with some experience in government, after Trump?”

Some Democrats expressed skepticism and even frustration about the swirl of fascination with Ms. Winfrey, arguing that the party was jumping the gun with fevered speculation about 2020.

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