Oprah Winfrey is set to make history again. Her Thursday appearance on David Letterman's 'The Late Show' quashes a 16-year old beef between the two talk titans. She did two turns on his NBC show but hasn’t been a guest since 1989, after he made the jump to CBS. She told Time Magazine in 2003 she would never go on his show, because during her past appearances she’d felt like the "butt of his jokes."

Well, what was she expecting?

Insults and double-entendre are late-night’s stock in trade. Letterman’s specialty is the long gaff, whereby he stretches a joke as far as it will go and then some, sometimes for years on end. These recurring jokes are hilarious when executed well, and Oprah has been the punch-line to a lot of them. Letterman takes careful note of fluctuations in weight and her stagnant relationship with Stedman Graham, and he's done this for the better part of the last 20 years. It’s always gotten him a laugh. Yet, he’s been inviting her on, only to be repeatedly stymied by her refusal to appear. T'yeah.

I don't know how Letterman could reasonably expect Oprah to come on his show, given that you can only insult people so much before they decide they just don't want to be bothered. Letterman declined a 2003 invitation to her show: This was a good move. Meeting an angry black woman on her own turf can look an awful lot like suicide. But this late-night love fest is not a reconciliation borne of forgiveness and good humor. It is, instead, a remarkably transparent bit of marketing strategy mutually beneficial to both parties: Oprah is hocking her DVD set and tickets to the stage version of 'The Color Purple,' a musical which she’s produced that opens the same day as her Letterman appearance. Letterman's show is down in the ratings---succumbing to the superior writing talents of Jay Leno's 'The Tonight Show' staff --- and he is banking on Oprah's appearance for a little boost. It can't hurt.

I'm not tuning in looking for full-on belly-laughter, because let's face it: Oprah ain’t funny, and she can’t take a joke. Oprah is a modern-day mammy. The fact that she’s gotten rich dispensing wisdom you can get at any beauty salon, barber shop or kitchen table in inner-city America and comes across as so self-righteous about it is exactly why she has made the perfect foil for Letterman all these years.

She is not Letterman's demographic, nor does she offer them much appeal: Oprah is the Anti-Dave: the smug, bookish pudgy girl sitting at the front of the class dutiful, attentive, and always with the right answer. Letterman is the guy lobbing spit-wads from the back of the room. On paper, there is no good reason their twain should ever meet.

Although Oprah vowed never to appear on his show again, vows come and go. Ratings and box office receipts are a whole different story. The laughs will be cheap and staccato -- and after they quash this beef, will Letterman even still be funny? It doesn’t matter. Dave’s pretty obnoxious, and there’s a good chance Oprah could snatch a hole in his head if he gets out of pocket, so I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

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About the Author
jimi izrael is an award-winning journalist and opinion writer. Currently serving the editorial board of the Lexington Herald-Leader and a regular commentator for National Public Radio, he blogs occasionally at www.jimiizrael.com.