Oprah Winfrey More Powerful Than Hillary Clinton

August 31st, 2007 11:03 AM

You're a former First Lady, a two-term Senator from the great state of New York, and the front-runner to win the Democrat nomination for president of the United States in 2008, and yet, a national business magazine still believes a media mogul who got her start doing a ladies' talk show in Chicago is more powerful than you.

That can't be good for the ego, can it?

Yet, there it was in the just-released special report by Forbes entitled "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women":

21 Oprah Winfrey Chairman, Harpo U.S.

22 Margaret Whitman Chief executive, president, Ebay U.S.

23 Queen Elizabeth II Queen U.K.

24 Melinda Gates Cofounder, cochairman, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation U.S.

25 Hillary Rodham Clinton U.S. senator, New York U.S.

How delicious. And, coming in at number 26 was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California).

So, Winfrey beat out the two most powerful Democrat women in the country.

Yet, Forbes felt that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was more powerful than all three of these ladies, placing her in the number four position.

Hmmm.

Finally, and maybe even more comical, as if falling ratings and constant jeers from critics isn't enough, Forbes felt that Katie Couric's replacement on the "Today" show, Meredith Vieira, is actually more powerful than the perky one.

As reported by TVNewser Thursday:

The magazine bequeaths the very top spot on the list to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Vieira comes in at #55, with Diane Sawyer #62, Katie Couric #63, and Christiane Amanpour #74. Anne Sweeney, President of the Disney-ABC Television Group, is #77.

I'm verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves.