Helped elect Bush twice? Seems you've forgotten Bush wasn't elected. Gore was, but of course Gore wouldn't fight for what was his. Nor would Kerry. But sure, it's Oprah's fault. And it was her fault that Gore was a stiff on her show. Yes, let's attack Oprah who does more good on her show than anyone in show business.
Some blamed Gore for not being politically savvy enough to kiss Oprah but there's no evidence that had any impact:
Bush went on Oprah September 19, 2000. The day before he went on her show (sept 18) Gore had a 5 point lead over Bush. The day after Bush went on Oprah (sept 20) Gore had a 6 point lead over Bush. Two days after Bush went on Oprah (sept 21st) Gore had a 10 point lead over Bush. So Bush got no bounce from going on Oprah, and actually went down in the polls. Bush didn't take the lead in the race until Sept 24 (a full 5 days after his Oprah appearance)but by October 5, Gore recaptured the lead beating Bush by 11 points. Gore on the other hand did get a bounce when he appeared on Oprah September 11, 2000. The day before the appearance he was beating Bush by 3 points. The day after he had doubled his lead to 6 points.
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS /stories/10/06/tracking.poll/index.html
And Oprah never had Bush on her show again.
It's really quite idiotic to blame every TV show Bush ever appeared on for getting him elected.
What about the debate moderators. Did they get Bush elected too? What about Bill Clinton's sex scandal and all the fundraising diverted to Hillary's senate election? Did that cost Gore the election too?
