The inimitable Oprah Winfrey kicked up quite a dust storm by deciding that she would only have Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin on for an interview after the election.

Oprah's since been called a "racist", "biased" and "finished" by some of her white female viewers who have decided that Palin is the ideal guest.

Conservative blogger Matt Drudge instigated this tempest by printing an unsubstantiated rumor that a "battle" was raging behind the scenes of Oprah's show about whether to have Palin on or not. It certainly seems possible that a heated disagreement would exist, but Oprah denied it all. ...

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.

That seems like a reasonable decision to me. And this whole rumor sounds just like other recent Republican attacks on the media. Although Oprah has declared support for Barack Obama's presidential bid, he has not been a guest since announcing his candidacy. Also, am I the only one who remembers that Oprah had George W. Bush on and greeted him with a hug and a kiss?

Still, Oprah's firm stance supporting Obama is in stark contrast to her "all things to all people" kind of easy-going and comforting persona she has spent much of her career cultivating. Some of her viewers are feeling jolted.

With almost 1,000 comments on her community message board dedicated to a possible Palin interview, Winfrey is already garnering strong reaction among her fans -- both those who are pleased with her decision and those who are not, such as Grossman-Green.

"I'm actually pretty angry with her right now because of this," she said. "I don't think I will be a gung-ho supporter right now.

"I'd think twice about switching her on or even buying her magazine."

So what do YOU think?