The Case for a Little Less Glamor and a Little More Policy

Oprah Winfrey, the famous talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist, delivered a speech at the Golden Globes that led many to believe she was interested in running for president. In this PCP, Opinions editor Eliza Spinna and writer Angela Wong debate an Oprah presidency, what it would mean for American democracy, and if she would be equipped for the White House.

With no clear frontrunner for the 2020 election, the Democratic party is jumping to find popular candidates who can run for office in two years. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announced he was “seriously considering” running for office in December. Before his sexual misconduct scandal, comedian and Senator Al Franken was also considered a potential frontrunner. After Oprah Winfrey’s political speech at the Golden Globes, many Democrats read her message as an indication of her willingness to run in 2020.

Her speech, however, shouldn’t be read as a premature campaign announcement. It was certainly political—she touched on the #MeToo movement and the struggles women endure in the workplace—but her fundamental message was not partisan. By telling her story as a young, black woman observing media representation of women and racial minorities, Oprah likely intended to send the hopeful message that young women will “speak their truth to the power of those men” in Hollywood and industry in general.

The Democrats’ willingness to interpret any political dialogue by celebrities as an announcement of their intentions to run for office reveals a larger panic and insecurity in the party. Democrats know that beating Trump in 2020 will be a tricky task and are searching for someone with sheer popularity to give them a chance to occupy the White House. Rather than attempting to be the “adults in the room” and rising above Trump’s populism, the Democrats are stooping to the Republicans’ level, which has dangerous political consequences.

By standing behind Oprah, Democrats validate the notion that Trump is not uniquely unqualified for office and that celebrity politics are acceptable. While Oprah is certainly a better version of Trump—she‘s a successful businessperson and media personality—she, like Trump, has no concrete political experience.

Political experience is important because it allows politicians to effectively create and push for policies within the complex and often esoteric American government. Experienced politicians know what concessions they can and cannot make and what routes to take when advancing legislation. For example, understanding how to execute a discharge petition after 21 years of working in the House and the Senate allowed Lyndon B. Johnson to push his Civil Rights Act of 1964 through an otherwise uncompromising House controlled by southern Democrats who opposed civil rights legislation.

And recently, as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Barack Obama made official trips to Middle Eastern nations such as Azerbaijan, where he collaborated with foreign leaders to create strategies to control terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. This experience gave him the knowledge and international political clout to negotiate the Iran Deal.

Oprah simply does not have the understanding of how our government works that Johnson gained in the House or the international political experience that Obama gained as a senator. While Oprah certainly is an international philanthropist, funding schools in Africa is not equivalent to negotiating with potentially hostile foreign leaders.

Similarly, putting your starpower behind a policy as a celebrity, like Oprah has done before, is not the same as pushing a policy through the House of Representatives and the Senate as the president. The former is much easier because it does not require the gritty negotiation skills and political knowledge that the president must exercise to push for policy. Like Trump must be reliant on his cabinet, Oprah would similarly be forced to depend on her advisors, which would severely slow her ability to respond quickly to emergencies and push for policy changes effectively.

Beyond this, the Democrats’ willingness to back Oprah delegitimizes local politicians and the current political system in which politicians work their way through smaller offices to eventually amass enough support and experience to run for larger offices. If the Democratic party backs Oprah, it will confirm that a new political dynamic is supported by both sides of the political aisle, one in which wealthy newcomers take office merely because of their personality, wealth, and starpower. This will discourage younger potential candidates from running for smaller offices because they believe they won’t be able to work their way up to the presidency or to a higher office.

If Trump is usurped in two years, the American government will be faced with the tough task of returning to a normal White House and political order. If that happens, it will be essential to find someone with the political experience to make that transition as smooth as possible. Only governors and congressmen who have worked their way up through the political ranks have the ability to return America to its pre-Trump state.