NOprah

Oprah Winfrey has responded to reports that she refused to invite Sarah Palin on her show, saying she said she would be happy to invite Palin on, after the election.

Says Oprah:

"At the beginning of this presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates. I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over."

But:

Winfrey used her show to introduce Barack Obama to America's women voters, and has endorsed and campaigned with the Democratic nominee. She also was very visible at Obama's acceptance speech last week in Denver.

Oprah's fans are not pleased and are saying so in comments posted on Oprah's own site:

Oprah, you just lost a lot of credibility. If Sarah Palin was a Democrat, or on Obama's ticket, she likely would be on your show, and most people realize the double standard you are advocating. And to say there has been "absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show" is very hard to believe.

Go ahead and keep her off the show. You will be contributing to the public's backlash to the media that will sweep McCain/Palin into the White House.

I can tell you that Sarah is very popular. I know several women who are voting for McCain as a direct result of Sarah Palin. These are educated, intelligent and independent women, not women who will vote for any woman candidate. Several of them were intending to vote for Obama, but now will vote McCain/Palin.

Another (former) fan said:

I have been a huge fan for many of my years. But I disassociate myself with anything Oprah from now on. You truly irked me when you threw Obama to the media forefront for your own personal gain and to suffocate us with your political position...

Laura Ingraham, on her radio show this morning, said that Oprah has always claimed to support "strong" women. Citing political rants on Winfrey's show during the 2004 election by activist actresses like Cameron Diaz, Ingraham said Oprah's support is obviously limited to "strong, liberal, ditzy Hollywood women." Ingraham proposed an updated version of the "NOBama" t-shirts for Oprah's mutineers, with "NOprah" on the back.