I never cease to wonder at how Oprah uses facets of her own personal life to illuminate problems and procedures facing us all. She developed an entire successful magazine using this method and she gets results. 1) She defuses her personal wealth and specialness by appearing open and generous. 2) She illustrates problems and solutions that are common but very bothersome. 3) She instigates a sympathetic rapport with her audience by relating to them, being candid and down to earth.   

P.S. She guarantees magazine interest and TV ratings over the next months as she lets her audience follow her latest weight loss. Can she do it? You bet. She is one brilliant cookie.

Click here on this text to read my New York Post column.

I always respond to these questions the way Liz does. She puts things so thoughtfully and beautifully, I really feel I should just say, "Ditto."
I loved Liz’s answer to the Oprah question. Anyway, here’s my two cents worth:

I admire Oprah and think she shows courage in sharing details about her life. She takes us with her on her journey through her troubles and triumphs to self-discovery. Her openness and honesty are inspiring and her self-revelation often leads to our own self-awareness. Oprah is a national treasure not just because she is an important communicator but because she is a powerful consciousness raiser.

I think of all that when I think of Oprah — not how thin or how fat. Even Buddha had a few extra fat cells.