Oprah Winfrey conducted a sit-down interview with Mitt and Ann Romney at their lakefront home in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, to run in her magazine, O.
The interview has raised eyebrows because Oprah has been one of Barack Obama’s most ardent supporters and in some quarters is credited with being a vital force in his 2008 election. In April, she told CBS’s Charlie Rose that while she planned to be a less active presence on the campaign trail this time, she still supports Mr. Obama.
“I’m 100 percent behind our president,” she said. “I actually love our president, and have the utmost respect for him and that office and what it takes to be there.”The Romney interview is also interesting because Oprah actually announced in 2008 that she refused to use her show as a platform for the candidates. This announcement came in response to an item in the Drudge Report that Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin was going to be a guest on her television show.
“The item in today’s Drudge Report is categorically untrue. There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show,” her statement said. “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.”
Her interview with Romney took place at his $10 million lakefront home, where the Romneys were joined by his sons and grandchildren for a final long weekend before he kicks into campaign overdrive. Romney is trying to keep the public’s attention focused on the state of the economy and away from the state of his finances, as the Obama campaign hammers away at his offshore bank accounts, his refusal to release more of his tax returns and his stewardship of Bain Capital.
