Not Even Oprah Can Save Lance Armstrong Now
There was a time when Oprah Winfrey was the most important voice in America. She created careers with a warm embrace. She ended them with a disapproving head shake. And she selected presidents with arms outstretched.
That time is no more.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Lance Armstrong's interview with Oprah did absolutely nothing to repair his tarnished image. According to research group YouGov, of those who watched the interview, 47 percent said he should not be forgiven for taking drugs, 45 percent said his lying was unforgivable and 49 percent said his bad behavior outweighs the good he's done in his life.
Bye.
But the study goes on, suggesting that, not only did his tell-all not help his image, it may have hurt it. Of those who didn't watch, only 37 percent said the bad in Armstrong's life outweighed the good.
Oprah's own numbers were much more positive: 59 percent said she struck a good balance of hard and soft questions. Seven percent thought she was too hard on Armstrong and 24 percent thought she was too soft; what did you want her to do, hit him in the face with an air pump? Yeah, me too.