KIDIST PAULOS ASRAT, reviewing the new Kitty Kelley book on Oprah, peers into the emptiness behind the legend. She writes:

This is a woman who thinks (and who everyone thinks) wields more power than she does. In fact, when her show did influence the election of G.W. Bush, it was the adroit Bush who got the better of her and sent a positive message to her audience. The forces do not revolve around Oprah.

Oprah leaves her daytime show for her new network the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN – Oprah is always ready to focus on her “girl power”) next year. I think she’ll simply be relegated to a respected, but somewhat obscure, chapter of American cultural history. I honestly don’t think people will remember her into the next century (or generation) other than the apparent sensation she caused: “What did she do?” people will ask. Well, she hosted a paradoxically big but inconsequential “first black woman’s” talk show.

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