Oprah on Sarah Palin Presidential Chances: Nil!

From one influential to woman to another, Oprah Winfrey has a message for Sarah Palin: best of luck with that 2012 Presidential campaign… you’ll need it!

In the latest issue of Parade, the talk show host refers to the reality star as “charming and likable.” But can she foresee Palin as President of the United States? No.

“It does not scare me because I believe in the intelligence of the American public,” Oprah said.

Winfrey also admits she’s “succumbed” to the notion that she’s a “brand,” while explaining how Michael Jackson influenced her decision to branch off with her own network.

“I thought, I don’t want to be Michael Jackson. This [Vanity Fair] article specifically said that after Thriller, which sold over 100 million albums and is still the highest-selling album of all time, when he then did Bad, which sold 20 million albums, he felt like a failure. Anybody today would bow down in prayer for 20 million.

“I didn’t want to be that person who’s been given this great opportunity of a network and thinking, but how am I going to make it what the Oprah Show has been for 25 years? What I recognize is that it took me at least 10 solid years to build [that show].”

OWN will launch on January 1.