Oprah is beloved. She is passionate, holds strong convictions, breaks barriers and is a great communicator. Oprah, who has never held a public office, is suddenly mulling a run for the presidency.
Celebrity elite are now empowering people to take on government roles that they are simply not qualified to assume. Understandably our current president and his “Celebrity Apprentice” approach to his personal life and governance does tend to make one ponder that Oprah as president might indeed be an improvement.
However, like most things in life, sometimes the grass is not greener; there are bad ideas; not everyone can win at T-ball; and Oprah does not have the qualifications for the job--regardless of how one may think she measures up to our current president. We should not be using the Trump presidency as a barometer.
There is a beautiful symmetry to developing these qualifications while in public service. Learning hardscrabble lessons that come hand-in-hand with the campaign trail and the opportunity to listen to your constituents--face-to-face--not via a studio audience who are just happy to be there, is both vital and builds character.
It takes hard work to be elected into office. Wearing down a lot of shoe leather, a candidate also requires determination, perseverance, and unfortunately large amounts of cash in most instances. Oprah certainly has that one predetermined advantage.
Looking to the women of the U.S. Senate that have been mentioned as possible 2020 Democratic candidates we have:
Kristen Gillibrand like Oprah has spoken out strongly around the #metoo movement. She voted on countless bills, casting the only vote against the appointment of General James Mattis. Gillibrand has a solid progressive standpoint.
Elizabeth Warren has been a senator for five years and is also considering a possible run for President. She is a former attorney who fought for consumer protections. During her time spent in the senate, Warren has routinely sparred with the president—seemingly unafraid of any political fallout.
Kamala Harris, the freshmen senator from California, is also contemplating a run. This former district attorney and attorney general is a freshman senator with a year and half experience on the books.
These women, along with two male politicians: Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, have all been mentioned as potential nominees. Each has served in public service in some capacity, and all have been through the grind of public election with a myriad of convictions, purpose and an ingrained desire to make a difference.
Barack Obama, love him or revile him, served three terms in the Illinois State Senate followed by another 3 years in the U.S. Senate before his run for the presidency. At that time, the media found issues with his lack of foreign policy experience and made much about whether he was “seasoned” enough.
So, what is qualifying experience? In 2015 a group of former Governors created a governor’s caucus in Congress. Why did they do this? Because as Senator Angus King said: “There is no way that anybody in this place can get anything done without bipartisan support.”
The Governors who were part of that caucus learned how to negotiate, compromise and move things forward before they ever arrived in Washington, D.C. Serving the people takes skill, patience and persistence.
The dizzying shock waves from the Oprah conversation should give us pause. Skills required to run the most powerful country in the world cannot be learned on a talk show. No matter how much anyone loves Oprah, trading the mantle of a beloved entertainer for that of our commander in chief is just not an even trade.