Nashville's own Oprah shows why she is loved

I don't love Oprah because of her show or whom she endorsed for president.

I love her for directness, her integrity and her damn honesty, particularly about herself.

So Oprah has let it be known that her weight has ballooned to 200 pounds because of a thyroid condition. Now she did not have to do that. But what I love about her is what I hate about newspapers.

If she is asked a question, even about herself, she answers it.

Ask a newspaper something about its internal operational decision making or a layoff, and they won't answer or they'll spin the news. They'll run the news about their layoffs away from the front page, but publish bold 1A headlines above the fold about layoffs nationally.

The Tennessean was one prime model for that kind of conduct last week. But I can't blame it. I'd be embarrassed, too, about laying off 22 people before Christmas. Scrooge would never have been that cruel.

But Oprah even is doing a special series of shows in January about her obesity and her efforts to get fit, not back down to her fighting weight of 160 pounds.

So Oprah, girl, you hang in there. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Your integrity has been left intact. Nashville loves its favorite daughter. You're perfect the way you are.