Original Air Date:
Friday, September 26, 2008
Friday Open Mic Panel:
Oprah welcomed her Friday open mic panel which included: actress and wife of George Stephanopoulos, Ali Wentworth; actor and husband of Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos; and Oprah's best friend Gayle King. The panel had met once before during last season to talk about current events though Ali, Mark and Gayle were on via satellite for that episode.
Open Mic Topic - The American Economy:
The panel dove right in to current headlines when they began their discussion on the American economy. Oprah commented how she had watched news coverage on the Washington Mutual collapse, which Gayle called the economic Pearl Harbor. The panel then began to voice opinions on how they felt about the current situation and what is being done to fix it.
The panel seemed to agree that it was not right that executives have still received bonuses and severance packages after a company had crashed and others were losing their jobs. It appears as if the people who caused the problems are being paid to fix them.
Open Mic Topic - Oprah and Sarah Palin:
A very brief conversation was had about Oprah and Sarah Palin. Oprah commented that she chose to support a candidate as a private citizen in May of 2007 and in that decided that she would not have anyone on air to use the show as a platform, this includes Barack Obama. Gayle King cleared up that Obama had not appeared on the Oprah Show since 2006. Oprah again stated that there was never a discussion to have Sarah Palin on the show and that she did in fact turn down an interview with Michelle Obama. The interview with Sarah Palin would be a no-win situation for Oprah who would look biased either way.
Open Mic Topic - Women Who Rule the Roost:
Oprah brought up an article she had read in USA Today called "Women Who Rule the Roost - That's OK with Men" in which in was discussed how women make the majority of household decisions. Mark commented that he feels, as a husband, that the decisions should be made in a partnership - not one person's opinion over the other. Gayle agreed that women do the heavy lifting in the household while Ali felt that if both people are working that it depends on the specific home who handles most of the work. The studio audience did agree that women do the majority of work in the home.
Open Mic Topic - Protect Our Children Act:
Oprah was pleased to announce that after more than 500,000 people looked for state senator information on Oprah.com, bill 1738 passed in the senate! She also thanked viewers for their help and dedication to getting the bill passed.
Open Mic Topic - Why Men Cheat:
The topic of Oprah's show with Gary Neuman on why men cheat was raised and Mark shared that guys don't like to talk about cheating or affairs and that the situation is based on ego with many men being very easy to make happy. Gayle absolutely resented the fact that it was somewhat implied that it's a woman's fault if she doesn't do enough for her husband and that many times a woman can be doing it all and still get cheated on. Ali commented that women shouldn't be hiring sexy nannies.
Open Mic Topic - Auctioning Off Virginity:
"Natalie" - a woman auctioning off her virginity online - discussed by phone her reasons for doing such an act. Natalie shared that the idea started as research for a grad school thesis and went from there. Current bids were up to $1 million dollars. Oprah shared that it was Natalie's choice to do what she wants with her body, while Gayle shared that she was very troubled by Natalie's lack of need for a connection with the person.
Open Mic Topic - Guest Spike Lee:
Director Spike Lee was welcomed to the show to discuss his new movie Miracle at St. Anna which opened Friday night. The audience saw the movie the night before and seemed to enjoy the film. Miracle is based on African-Americans who fought in World War II. Gayle wanted to share that the film isn't just about war, but a layered movie that is worthwhile for everyone to see. The film is backed by funds from Italy and France but also by Disney, though Spike wasn't sure if the money would actually come through to produce the film. He shared how blessed he feels to be doing what he loves.
Open Mic Topic - The Debates:
The last topic up for discussion was whether or not the first presidential debate would go on and what would happen if McCain decided not to show. 64% of people polled stated that they wanted the debates to go on regardless of the work being done in Washington. A viewer commented that the debates should go on especially because of the state of the economy to give American's an idea of what is going on and what needs to change.