I believe that Dr. Phil is partially genuine. He really does believe that he knows whats best, and he knows the right way to go about fixing psychological problems. He's overbearing and stubborn. He is pathalogically religous. The only reason he is on TV is because of his aggressive approach towards his "patients", and he is also rude and blunt.

He was equally amicable with John and Teresa Kerry. You really can't draw any conclusions about his political leanings based on how courteous he was to someone from either political party when those people were guests on his television show.

I was surprised, finally watching Dr. Phil a few times recently, that I couldn't help developing a rather positive opinion of him and his show. Not because he does everything right, but because, for all his sensationalism, it's clear that he has a basic human respect for everyone on his show, regardless of their situations, no matter how much he disapproves or how he blames them.

It's a bit like watching the ending of the Jerry Springer show stretched out for an extra 20 minutes. Both these guys are at least capable of showing that there's a difference between A)telling someone they have a serious problem they aren't dealing with effectively vs. B) telling them that they're not worthy of help or entitled to whatever shred of dignity they can muster.

The point of both shows (other than simply to maintain our attention long enough to sell us something) seems to be to help us relate somewhat to people with fucked-up lives, rather than simply dismissing them as fuck-ups, the latter of which is mentally easier, but is a lazy way of looking at things, and not conducive to the betterment of society.

These shows have to be conceptually acessible to even very dumb people, and I think it's good that dumb people at least have these shows to watch. Dismissing dumb people as incapable of learning anything socially valuable from TV is just not being fair to them or to the medium, granted that we must accept the limitations of both.

<<His success, like Oprah's and Martha Stewart, doesn't flatter the American Character. >>

***Oprah might just be one of the few things I like about your country.
I *LOVE* Oprah, Dr.Phil, and yes, I also love Martha Stewart, she has a GREAT lemon merengue pie recepie :-)
If people were to just get past their own feelings of inadequacy and stop envying the success of others, then they might just be able to see all the good they have done for people. Dr. Phil actually has some pretty good advice to give, especially for married people.
I can honestly say the 3 things I miss the most about being in the States are watching the Oprah show and Dr.Phil's show, and cinammon rolls.