Splashed all over Drudge  at the moment is a report that Oprah Winfrey, enthusiastic Obama-backer and World’s Most Powerful Woman, is refusing to allow Sarah Palin to appear on her TV show – despite a swell of popular demand among her viewers. The line from Oprahma’s camp is that she simply wishes to maintain political neutrality during the election season; a peculiar claim in light of her unabashed support for the Democratic candidate.

Me, I’m hoping that Oprah never has Palin on – or if she does, that she’s rude or hostile or otherwise unfair to her. For every time some cable-news talking head, career Washingtonian, ivory-tower intellectual, or Hollywood pezzonovante disses Palin, it only affirms and strengthens the anti-elitist narrative that has propelled Palin to such stunning popularity.

 Over at NRO’s The Corner, Mark Steyn (my favorite Canadian) thanks the media for helping Palin look better and better with every backhanded swipe they take at her:

 I would like to thank the US media for doing such a grand job this last week of lowering expectations by portraying Governor Palin - whoops, I mean Hick-Burg Mayor Palin - as a hillbilly know-nothing permapregnant ditz, half of whose 27 kids are the spawn of a stump-toothed uncle who hasn't worked since he was an extra in Deliverance.

 How's that narrative holding up, geniuses? Almost as good as your "devoted husband John Edwards" routine?

 I trust even now Maureen Dowd is working on a hilarious new column mocking proposed names for the Governor's first grandchild. Perhaps Richard Cohen can just take the week off and they can rerun his insightful analysis comparing the Palin nomination to Caligula making his horse a consul. Whereas we sophisticates all know that if McCain were as smart as Obama he'd have nominated a dead horse to be his consul. No wait...