Dear Lord. Remind me again - whose brilliant idea was it to give the masses the right to vote?

If you watch Oprah, you can see her mouthing, "Vote Obama" Throughout the ovation. How could any of these people could say no...

If you watch Oprah, you can see her mouthing, "Vote Obama" Throughout the ovation.

Is this during this clip or the start of her show?

I really can't comprehend the phenomenon that is Oprah Winfrey. I doubt there is any demographic subcategory of adult women who don't watch her show at least once a week. (I wasn't aware of the full magnitude of her prophet-like power until I got married.) Is there anything that has a comparable following among adult men?

Oprah is like football or baseball playoff season, except year-round.

I am mystified by the audience's reactions too... were they expecting to get their own free pieces of her summer favorites or something like that?

Yes, as a general rule she gives away free samples of whatever her "favorite thing" may be. As you may recall, one year it involved a new car.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I must say, then, their behavior isn't _so_ inexplicable. They have just found out, to their surprise, that they're going to get something or other of some high degree of spiffiness. Multiply that times their excitement at being at the Oprah show in the first place, times the group reaction intensifying dynamic (that she comments on at the end), and we end up with something intelligible, if still a bit on the hysterical side.

I do wonder just how much Oprah herself ends up spending, if anything, on giving away her purported "favorite things." The companies whose products are featured are getting a giant endorsement, so surely they provide the products either free or at a steep discount. And having these episodes boosts Oprah's already stratospheric ratings. So it's hardly a purely selfless gesture on her part. But still very nice for the people lucky enough to be members of the audience on that particular day.

I do wonder just how much Oprah herself ends up spending, if anything, on giving away her purported "favorite things."

I think the answer is virtually nothing, but I don't believe she makes any secret about this or suggests the funds for it comes out of her own pocket.

I'm still extremely confused. She said she's NOT having the favorite things whatever-the-hell-it-is. The audience can't be that dumb.

And also, being that I'm not married yet, I'm quite worried that women get this excited over new toaster ovens or whatever she gives away.

I dont see how her audience is that different from the "Price is Right" one.

Matt,

Perhaps your comment was tongue-in-cheek, but the stuff Oprah gives away is nicer than a $20 toaster oven. We're talking about stuff that's worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. (I know this because I overhear the Oprah show many evenings while my wife's watching it in the living room and I'm on the computer in the den.)

Josh--I do think the "favorite things" giveaways are meant to boost Oprah's image as the queen of generosity, in much the same way as Bono carefully crafts his image as an advocate for the poor around the world. I respect both of them for doing good things, but at the same time I'm reminded of the parable of the widow's mite.

Watching it again, I sound like an idiot in my first paragraph.

Anyway, I know she gives away expensive stuff on the show. I'm just a bit disturbed about how people are crying for joy over getting something ultimately material and depreciating. If I won something I would be interested, say, a big plasma TV, I hope I wouldn't go this crazy over it.

"Saturday Night Live" did a parody of this very thing a few years back. Hard to believe that the real show is more outrageous than the parody was. But, hey, Oprah promotes materialism and so she hooks a lot of people.