Oprah Winfrey as President Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate? Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich told Diane Sawyer this morning that the thought crossed his mind.

Blagojevich told Diane on ABC's Good Morning America: "[Oprah] seemed to be someone who had helped Barack Obama in a significant way to become president. She was obviously someone with a much broader bully pulpit than other senators."

In the end, though, the governor conceded that Oprah would likely have declined the seat — which Blagojevich eventually gave to former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris — and he was also concerned that offering the position to the talk-show host would have looked "look like a gimmick."

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