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Although some of the suspense of Monday's Sarah Palin interview on "Oprah" was dampened by there having been enough advance leaks to ensure that people would tune in, it was still instructive to watch the superstar tete-a-tete. Some highlights:
Her Lips Said Come to Thanksgiving Dinner, But Her Demeanor Said Maybe Not.
Palin "invited" one-time presumptive son-in-law Levi Johnston to spend the coming holiday with the Palins, but it was in the context of fretting about the road he was on, which she described as "Ricky Hollywood." "We don't have to go down this road of controversy and drama all the time," she said to the father of her grandson. Referring to Johnston's planned Playgirl photo shoot, Palin said, "I call that porn."
On Being Handled by the McCain Campaign.
The vetters for Republican nominee John McCain knew about daughter Bristol Palin's pregnancy, Palin said, but made her public statement about it sound like she and husband Todd were "giddy happy to become grandparents," instead of the more nuanced remark about "the problem of teen pregnancy" she would have made. That handling was "just a little bit of an indication of problems to come."
And Here We Were Thinking the Second Interview Would Go to Katie Couric. Winfrey won first dibs on Palin's tour promoting her "Going Rogue" autobiography. But during the show on Chicago's WLS-Ch. 7 Monday, there came a tease for the former Republican vice presidential nominee's appearance the next morning on "Good Morning America," with Barbara Walters. About her infamous interview with CBS anchor Couric during the campaign, Palin said, "If you'd only known me from that interview, I don't blame people for thinking that I was not qualified, that I was ill prepared."
Oprah Apparently Does Not Like Quitters.
Winfrey, who had publicly supported Barack Obama's Democratic ticket against Palin and McCain, didn't press too hard with her questions, leaving Palin room to make her point and the audience to decide whether she'd made sense. But on the issue of Palin quitting the Alaska governorship before her term ended, Winfrey came closest to adamant. "Why not just finish what you started," Winfrey asked, after Palin had tried to explain that "I wasn't going to run for a second term. I was heading into a lame-duck term."
The Two Women Come Together to Share an Oprah Moment.
Asking about how hard it would have been for Palin to have won the vice presidency and still raised her kids, Winfrey said, "You can have it all, but you just can't have it all at the same time." Agreed Palin, "I am a believer in that."
What About 2012?
Winfrey got nothing new from Palin on this, except an admission that even if the politician had decided whether to run for president, she wouldn't be revealing it now, on "Oprah." Palin, who denied having a talk show in the works, did say this, however: "What I'm seeing clearer and clearer every day is you don't need a title to make a difference." Said Winfrey: "That is for sure."
At the End of the Day, Oprah Held Sarah's Book Up and Sarah Gave Oprah a Ratings Pop.
It was good for both of them.
sajohnson@tribune.com
Disclaimer: Clicking on the green links will direct you to a third-party Web site. Bloggers and staff writers are in no way affiliated with these links that are placed by an e-commerce specialist only after stories and posts have been published.
Her Lips Said Come to Thanksgiving Dinner, But Her Demeanor Said Maybe Not.
Palin "invited" one-time presumptive son-in-law Levi Johnston to spend the coming holiday with the Palins, but it was in the context of fretting about the road he was on, which she described as "Ricky Hollywood." "We don't have to go down this road of controversy and drama all the time," she said to the father of her grandson. Referring to Johnston's planned Playgirl photo shoot, Palin said, "I call that porn."
On Being Handled by the McCain Campaign.
The vetters for Republican nominee John McCain knew about daughter Bristol Palin's pregnancy, Palin said, but made her public statement about it sound like she and husband Todd were "giddy happy to become grandparents," instead of the more nuanced remark about "the problem of teen pregnancy" she would have made. That handling was "just a little bit of an indication of problems to come."
And Here We Were Thinking the Second Interview Would Go to Katie Couric. Winfrey won first dibs on Palin's tour promoting her "Going Rogue" autobiography. But during the show on Chicago's WLS-Ch. 7 Monday, there came a tease for the former Republican vice presidential nominee's appearance the next morning on "Good Morning America," with Barbara Walters. About her infamous interview with CBS anchor Couric during the campaign, Palin said, "If you'd only known me from that interview, I don't blame people for thinking that I was not qualified, that I was ill prepared."
Oprah Apparently Does Not Like Quitters.
Winfrey, who had publicly supported Barack Obama's Democratic ticket against Palin and McCain, didn't press too hard with her questions, leaving Palin room to make her point and the audience to decide whether she'd made sense. But on the issue of Palin quitting the Alaska governorship before her term ended, Winfrey came closest to adamant. "Why not just finish what you started," Winfrey asked, after Palin had tried to explain that "I wasn't going to run for a second term. I was heading into a lame-duck term."
The Two Women Come Together to Share an Oprah Moment.
Asking about how hard it would have been for Palin to have won the vice presidency and still raised her kids, Winfrey said, "You can have it all, but you just can't have it all at the same time." Agreed Palin, "I am a believer in that."
What About 2012?
Winfrey got nothing new from Palin on this, except an admission that even if the politician had decided whether to run for president, she wouldn't be revealing it now, on "Oprah." Palin, who denied having a talk show in the works, did say this, however: "What I'm seeing clearer and clearer every day is you don't need a title to make a difference." Said Winfrey: "That is for sure."
At the End of the Day, Oprah Held Sarah's Book Up and Sarah Gave Oprah a Ratings Pop.
It was good for both of them.
sajohnson@tribune.com
Disclaimer: Clicking on the green links will direct you to a third-party Web site. Bloggers and staff writers are in no way affiliated with these links that are placed by an e-commerce specialist only after stories and posts have been published.
