Williams: Fascinating? Not so much

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Barbara Walters has reinvented the definition of "fascinating" with some of those on her list for 2009.

Her most fascinating person of the year is first lady Michelle Obama. I can go along with that, but is she fascinating to Walters because of who she is or because she happens to be married to the president of the United States? Probably a little bit of both. Either way, I can agree with this one. I like her, too.

Not all the members of our editorial board personally find Sarah Palin fascinating, but I would ascribe that adjective to the Palin Phenomenon. We've seen a lot of Sarah for almost two years now. And with her book tours and possible preparations for 2012 (the tour just happened to hit Iowa, the presidential-caucus state that seems to lead the way straight to the White House), there's not much new to learn there. Besides, she'll likely be in the public eye for a while.

Lady GaGa? I'll admit I don't always keep up with the latest music, but if she's fascinating, what would Walters call Taylor Swift? The latter could be considered fascinating as much for her financial acumen and professional expertise (at an age when most of us were still trying to declare a major) as her music.

Glenn Beck? Loud. Weepy. Belligerent. But fascinating? Not really.

Season 8 "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert? Couldn't Walters get the winner? (And I hate his hair.) Kate Gosselin? See Glenn Beck and add "capable of using her children to make it big on a reality show." Another person we've seen way too much of in the last few months.

Brett Favre? Well, I suppose she had to have an athlete in there, and Tiger Woods certainly wasn't going to accept the invite.

Tyler Perry? Actually, I do find his story fascinating. After a difficult childhood, Perry is the epitome of the self-made man -- and he makes me laugh.

Michael Jackson's children? Leave them alone, just leave them alone. Enough already.

And finally, South Carolina's own first lady, Jenny Sanford.

What made Walters add her to the list? Was it her husband's public confession of infidelity? The way she handled him speaking on national television of another woman as his "soul mate"? Perhaps it was because, unlike so many political wives, she didn't stand by her man and put on a show for the public's consumption. Admirable, yes, but fascinating? Why is her situation so unusual that it makes her one of the 10 most fascinating people of the year? (Actually, with Jackson's children, it makes 12, but who's counting? Guess Walters considers them a package deal.)

Millions of women have gone through what Jenny Sanford is going through -- without her resources, her support system or her book deal. And millions have had no second home to which they could escape and seek privacy for themselves and their children. She behaved with a great deal of dignity. But so do millions of other women. Of course, her husband's failings were public, and for the way she handled herself, she gets my respect. But fascinating? Not especially.

So who do I find fascinating? How about Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who saved the lives of all on board the airliner he landed in New York's Hudson River? Maybe Jaycee Dugard, who survived 18 years of captivity after being kidnapped as a child? How about Biz Stone, Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey? Never heard of them? Tweet the news: They invented Twitter.

I wouldn't mind seeing an interview with Charlaine Harris, whose books about vampires "going public," set in rural Louisiana, were largely ignored (except by people like me who still check out the shelves at the library instead of downloading only best sellers) until HBO decided to add "True Blood" to its lineup.

Finally, while Bernard Madoff is definitely not an admirable guy (and that's an understatement if I've ever written one), how he could live with himself after what he did is pretty fascinating.

An honest interview with Bernard Madoff -- that's something I might have watched.

But celebrity interviewer Barbara Walters wouldn't be my choice. We'd have to somehow resurrect Ed Bradley or Edward R. Murrow to do justice to that one.

(Bonnie Williams is editorial-page editor of the Anderson (S.C.) Independent-Mail. E-mail williamsbc(at)independentmail.com)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)

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