Barack Obama supporter and talk show titan Oprah Winfrey has responded to the earlier Drudge Report item on her reported opposition to hosting GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on her show:

The item in today’s Drudge Report is categorically untrue. There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. At the beginning of this Presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates. I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over.

Well, anyway, Newsday’s Verne Gay offers The O five reasons she should have Palin on the show—and not all of them are political:

1. To take “a larger look at even more important issues”—which don’t have to be political at all.

2. To rake in huge ratings—“perhaps one of the biggest numbers in ‘O’ history. This is a mercenary business, O, in case you’ve forgotten,” Gay says.

3. To get “back to that sweet spot of “relevance” and “news-worthiness.”

4. To go toe to toe with one of Obama’s opponents. Or, in Gay’s words, to use an hour to say to Palin, “‘OK, lady, I happen to think this guy walks on water. Now you tell me why he doesn’t, and let’s go at this.’”

5. To regain some of the perceived objectivity Oprah sacrificed when she endorsed Obama for president. Having Palin on the show would be “her chance to say to everyone, ‘“I have a right to support whomever I choose, and now to prove to you just how open-minded I am.’”

Read the complete article here.