The public rehabilitation of Marion Jones officially began, as it so often seems to in these kinds of cases, with a tearful appearance on Oprah.

Tissue in hand, the disgraced sprinter told of finally being happy with herself and hoping that the story of her rise and fall will somehow help make things better in the world.

“I think that in and of itself will inspire people and help people,” Jones said.

“I think you have succeeded,” Oprah replied.

It was a tender moment, the kind that keeps millions tuning in to watch Oprah everyday. About the only thing that could have topped it is if both stood up at the end of the show and promised everyone in the studio audience a new car.

Wait, that’s been done before.

Unfortunately, so has this.

It’s the oldest trick in the image rehabilitation handbook. The only surprise was Jones waited nearly two whole months after getting out of prison to see if she could pull it off.

It would have worked even better had Jones been able to get a day pass and appear with Oprah while still in her prison uniform.

I guess we’re supposed to feel sorry for Jones, if only because Oprah apparently does. I guess we’re supposed to forget the scam that she pulled for so long because, hey, she has children and really seems to care a lot about them.

Cool in her prime, we now find out that Jones also has feelings. Lots of them, judging from the amount of tears flowing during the show.

Crying on national television can be so cathartic. Telling the truth on national television can be, too.

Although the tears came easily, the truth was more elusive as Oprah spent an entire show lobbing softball questions at Jones, who worked hard to swat them out of the park. You would think someone who just spent nearly six months in prison for lying to investigators about her steroid use would have learned her lesson, but apparently Jones has not.

Then again, there are no penalties for lying to Oprah.

In the taped interview, Jones once again portrayed herself as an innocent and naive athlete who didn’t know she was doped during the 2000 Olympics, where she was so much faster than everyone else that she won three gold medals.

Yes, people were giving her stuff to take. Yes, she was taking it.

But how was she to know that it was bad stuff? How was she to know that it would make her run faster?

“When I stepped on that track, I thought everybody was drug-free, including myself,” Jones said

Please. Tell it to the judge.

Actually, that’s just what Jones did when she was sentenced, admitting she lied about using steroids but saying that she didn’t know the “flaxseed oil” was actually a steroid until investigators told her. The judge didn’t buy it, saying he found it hard to believe that a world-class athlete didn’t know exactly what she put into her body.

Who knows, maybe Jones plans to write a best-selling book in which she finally will tell all. Or maybe she has spent so much time convincing herself that she really is just a victim that she actually believes it herself.

Stay tuned. I get the feeling Jones has at least one more Oprah appearance still in her.