Why we need Oprah to be "our Oprah" — and not our president

TIME

“The mingling of political and cultural celebrity — a radical shift in American life after the election of a pop-culture star to the presidency — can’t be reversed,” says Daniel D’Addario. He adds: “it’s a troubling trend, not least because liberals sympathetic to a (Oprah) Winfrey candidacy seem to have learned nothing from what they dislike about President Trump. Replacing a political amateur with a political amateur with good intentions doesn’t solve certain core problems the executive branch is suffering at the moment. Winfrey has given her fans every indication through the years that she is a skilled executive, a genius of empathy and a deep reader of literature (a sharp contrast to our current post-literacy president), but it’s not exactly pedantic to suggest, as various positions lie unfilled and as America’s status on the world stage sinks, that some level of experience is needed to run the federal government.”

ALSO:

• Gayle King says Oprah is not actively considering a presidential run: “I do think she’s intrigued by the idea. I do think that"
• Everybody missed the point of Oprah’s speech — it wasn’t about setting up a presidential run
• Oprah electrifies America as an artist, but it would be shortsighted to bring that vigor to politics
• Trump administration welcomes potential clash with Oprah in 2020
• “Please let’s not do this again”: Why Oprah 2020 is “a bad liberal revenge fantasy”
• Shouldn’t we be concerned with Oprah’s relationship with “charlatans” like Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz and Jenny McCarthy?
• Read a guide to Oprah’s political leanings
• Sean Spicer, Trump’s former press secretary, suggests Oprah is too inexperienced to run for president
• Stephen Colbert explains how an Oprah presidency would work
• Shares of Weight Watchers soar after Oprah’s speech
• Trevor Noah breaks down why Oprah is the perfect opponent for Trump