TodayToni's Takes: Pollsters say Whoopie needs a makeover
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My husband doesn’t like Oprah Winfrey. He finds her preachy, overbearing and a tad too ubiquitous (was it her daytime talk show, her primetime reality show, her magazine, her satellite radio channel or her upcoming cable TV network that gave him that impression?). So I have some good news for him: Not all Americans think Oprah would make a good president.
A lot of them do, granted. Some 22 percent, according to a fun new AOL Television poll released last week. It asked all sorts of absurd questions about talk show hosts, like who would make the best president, who has the best hair, and who is least sexy.
Some of the answers were surprising ” more people think “Good Morning America” Diane Sawyer would make a good president than Winfrey, despite the latter’s involvement in all sorts of social and political causes.
Some of the answers weren’t surprising at all ” CNN’s Larry King was voted least sexy. (Yet he’s been married seven times.)
Some of the answers were downright confusing ” Conan O’Brien placed fifth for best hairdo, but he also won the “most in need of a new hairdo” category. People, get your answers straight.
But most of all, the poll was interesting. Here’s a look at some selected answers, and what they may mean about our society.
Question: Who’s the ideal dinner party guest?
Answer: Ellen DeGeneres won this handily with 47 percent of the vote, followed by Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart at 16 percent, Winfrey at 14 percent, Martha Stewart at 13 percent and O’Brien at 10 percent.
What we can learn from this: If people had been picking based on the side dish the hosts would bring along, M. Stewart would have won hands-down. While you could say America has come a long way in the last decade, considering what a stir DeGeneres’ coming out made, perhaps it’s more indicative of our preferred dinner conversation. From what I’ve seen of her daytime show, M. Stewart stinks at making small talk.
Question: Who’s the least sexy daytime talk show host?
Answer: King got more than half the vote, followed by Whoopi Goldberg at 25 percent, Jay Leno at 10 percent, Joy Behar at 7 percent and Carson Daly at 4 percent.
What we can learn from this: Daly’s ex, Tara Reid, evidently spends her days voting in online polls.
Question: Who’s the sexiest TV host?
Answer: Thirty-nine percent chose Kelly Ripa, followed by Tyra Banks at 22 percent, Matt Lauer at 18 percent, J. Stewart at 16 percent and Stephen Colbert at 5 percent.
What we can learn from this: America needs glasses (seriously, Ripa over Banks?).
Question: Who’s the worst interviewer?
Answer: Elisabeth Hasselbeck edged Banks, 35 percent to 25 percent, followed by Dr. Phil at 23 percent, King at 11 percent and Meredith Vieira at 7 percent.
What we can learn from this: Wait, isn’t Dr. Phil’s entire job about communication? If he’s not asking the right questions, how is he ever going to help Britney Spears?
Question: Who could use a fashion makeover?
Answer: Whoopi Goldberg led with 58 percent of the vote, followed by Larry King at 27 percent, Rachael Ray at 11 percent, David Letterman at 3 percent and Tyra Banks at 1 percent.
What we can learn from this: Hmm, maybe America doesn’t need glasses.
Question: Who would win in an all-out “View” smackdown?
Answer: Goldberg again won with 39 percent, followed by Barbara Walters and Joy Behar at 20 percent, Elisabeth Hasselbeck at 13 percent and Sherri Shepherd at 9 percent.
What we can learn from this: They’re all lucky Rosie O’Donnell quit the show. She would have gotten 100 percent of the vote last year.
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Toni Fitzgerald has covered the television industry for Media Life Magazine (www.medialifemagazine.com) for five years. You can reach her at tonifitz@yahoo.com.
