I love Oprah. Her integrity, her ability to communicate, her empathy are all without question. My values also tend to align with hers. So why am I against an Oprah-for-president campaign? The 2016 elections prove that just because a candidate shares the ideals of a voting bloc, that doesn’t necessarily make them qualified for elected office.

Today’s voters mistakenly equate fame with the ability to lead or govern. However, fame can be attained in many ways in today’s culture: through cable television, Hollywood, YouTube, Twitter, talk radio — all wonderful platforms to gain celebrity status, but not always a marker for fitness to govern.

Back in the 1970s, advertisers learned that you sell the sizzle, not the steak, and today’s voters have fallen for the same scheme. They crave spectacle over substance, bullet points over depth. The current White House is a case in point.

Oprah Winfrey and other media-savvy types may be repulsed by Washington politics, as are many of us, but revulsion of the status quo is not in itself an electable quality.

Brian Pomodoro

Pembroke