IS ELISABETH HASSELBECK LEAVING THE VIEW?

Elisabeth Hasselbeck

So the word on the street is that Elisabeth Hasselbeck will not be returning to ABC's The View.  That has not been confirmed yet.  Unlike Joy Behar, who's departure has been announced, there has been no official statement from either Hasselbeck or the show.

If it IS true, the mystery is whether or not she is leaving voluntarily or being forced out.  I believe that she is walking away from the show and the rumors of her being "fired" are nothing more than one final, mean-spirited jab at the youngest, most attractive and lone Conservative member of the panel of co-hosts.

The show debuted on August 11, 1997, featuring four co-hosts: Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos, and Barbara Walters. Joy Behar started out as a part-time member of the group, subbing for Walters.  Eventually Behar became a regular with Walters being the optional fifth member of the panel.  Vieira was the original moderator. 

The first member to leave the show was Matenopoulos who left in 1998 when her contract was not renewed.  Following her departure, Lisa Ling was announced as the new co-host, beating out Rachel Campos-Duffy and Lauren Sanchez who competed in an on-air try-out to fill the vacated seat.  Ling departed in 2002 to host National Geographic Explorer. Hasselbeck, a former Survivor contestant, joined the panel in 2003 after she, Campos-Duffy and Erin Hershey Presley were the finalists in a competition that ended with each of the three getting a week-long on-air tryout.

Since her arrival, the show has waved goodbye to Vieira and Jones in 2006 and, most famously, Rosie O'Donnell in 2007.  O'Donnell had been brought on the previous year to take over as moderator.  Whoopi Goldberg was chosen to replace O'Donnell as moderator.  The slot previously occupied by Jones was filled by Sherri Shepherd.

O'Donnell's presence as moderator also doubled the number of comics on the panel (Behar being the other).  Those two naturally took a humorous but cynical look at politics and taboo subjects that had been deliberately avoided in the past.  During this time the humor was laced with an extra dose of liberal bias and was frequently offensive to anybody who didn't share O'Donnell's ideology. 

O'Donnell had thoroughly negative opinions of President Bush and the war in Iraq.  O'Donnell was also - and still is - a 9/11 "truther" who thinks that the Bush administration orchestrated the attacks.  O'Donnell even went so far as to claim that "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam."

Hasselbeck, the only Conservative among the hosts and out-numbered by three or four to one, had a choice of either playing along, keeping quiet or taking an opposing point of view.  To her credit, Hasselbeck mostly took a stand and voiced her opinions, which naturally led to the others ganging up on her.  O'Donnell in particular, as you might expect, delighted in doing this.  And yet, after announcing in April 2007 that she would be leaving the show, O'Donnell still managed to portray herself as the poor, harassed "victim."  This led to the famous final spat between her and Hasselbeck:

 
For the record, the Iraqi death toll talking point mentioned by O'Donnell was bogus.  And so was Rosie's whine about how "they" were viciously ganging up on her.  A comic, surrounded by her liberal allies on the panel and cheered by the Left-wingers everywhere, felt victimized?  A few months after the spat, as Hasselbeck was going on maternity leave, the liberal Boston Globe put things into perspective:

When Elisabeth Hasselbeck bade farewell to her cohosts on "The View" Tuesday, it was all hugs, well-wishes, and baby-product endorsements. But as Hasselbeck begins her 2 1/2-month maternity leave, the political landscape is shifting, as well. America's most dangerous conservative - or so some liberals see it - is leaving TV for a while.

Hasselbeck, the apple-cheeked blonde with the football-player husband, consistently draws a brand of hatred from the left that Hillary Clinton generates from the right; "screechmonger" is one of the more printable slurs hurled at her from the blogosphere. Barry Manilow has called her "offensive." Alicia Silverstone once refused to touch her. And that an America's sweetheart-type would generate such vitriol says a lot about the state of debate in a polarized country.

~*~*~*~

Hasselbeck didn't start her career with politics in mind. The Rhode Island native first gained national fame as Elisabeth Filarski, a 23-year-old Newton resident who competed on the second installment of CBS's "Survivor." She parlayed a final-four finish into a job hosting the Style Network show "The Look for Less." In November 2003, she won a coveted slot as the designated "young person" on "The View's" all-female panel.

Hasselbeck quickly emerged as the show's resident conservative. She spoke out for President George W. Bush during the 2004 election campaign, had a prime-time speaking gig at that year's Republican National Convention, and attended a White House state dinner with Queen Elizabeth. When Rosie O'Donnell began a yearlong stint as the show's moderator last fall, her frequent spats with Hasselbeck - which at least once landed Hasselbeck in tears - made the YouTube rounds.

They also solidified Hasselbeck's image as a victim; her cohosts on "The View" tend to lecture her or treat her with gentle condescension. "Elisabeth, calm down, dear," Barbara Walters said one day last year, after Hasselbeck delivered a passionate rant against the morning-after pill. Earlier this week, when Hasselbeck criticized Republican pork barrel spending, cohost Joy Behar shouted, "Very good, Elisabeth," and Walters chimed in with, "Now that's a milestone!"

The attitude toward Hasselbeck was also highlighted by Hollywood douchebag publicist Howard Bragman, when commenting on what Whoopi brought to the line-up:

"She is exactly what the show needs," said Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman. "She is a beloved brand name; she is outspoken; she has done this before, she is a person of color; she is as far left as Rosie; she lives in New York; and she can kick Elizabeth Hasselbeck's ass."

Got that?  On a show where the ratio is always at least 3-to-1 if not 4-to-1 in favor of liberals, it's Hasselbeck who needs an ass-kicking.  Proglodytes.

So now we come to last Friday.  In an exclusive, UsMagazine.com reported that after nine seasons on the show Hasselbeck's contract would not be renewed because "viewers found her too extreme and right wing":

The people have spoken. Elisabeth Hasselbeck, one of the five cohorts of ABC's daytime talk show The View, will not be returning to the couch next season, following hot on the footsteps of fellow cohost Joy Behar, a source tells Us Weekly.

According to the source, the show's resident conservative voice is being ousted after market research revealed that she isn't popular with TV audiences.

"The viewers they polled all said she was too extreme and right wing," the insider tells Us. "People did not watch the show because of Elisabeth. So they told her yesterday her contract would not be renewed."

When reached for comment, a rep for the show told Us in a statement: "Elisabeth Hasselbeck is a valued member of The View and has a long term contract."

I have no doubt that there are plenty of the show's liberal fans who feel exactly the way the anonymous source says they do.  They don't appreciate Hasselbeck's point of view anymore than I appreciate Bob Beckel's point of view on The Five (which Roger Ailes has confirmed was inspired by The View's format).  But I don't believe the show has suffered a significant loss of viewers at any time during Hasselbeck's time on the show.  I'd guess it's just the opposite, to be honest.

Furthermore, if the negativity aimed at Hasselbeck is so prevalent, how do they explain this?  It certainly looks as though opinions of Hasselbeck are basically split down the middle.  How many Left-wing nutjobs did they pack into these alleged focus groups?

The question of whether Hasselbeck is being pushed out or is walking away voluntarily is significant.  If she is "too extreme and right-wing" for the viewers then there is almost nobody who could fill her spot.  It would basically be a case of the show bowing to the bias of slightly more than half their audience and deciding that there simply won't be a Conservative on the panel.  She is hardly extreme in her views. It only seems that way to those who are suffering from Kool-aid-induced mania and can't even tolerate one dissenting voice on a four- or five-person panel.  It's pathetic.

On the other hand, if she is leaving voluntarily, as Behar and others have done, then it's fair to assume that the show's producers (of which the last original member, Barbara Walters, is one) would look for another Conservative to fill the spot.  If that were to happen I personally would LOVE for it to be Rachel Campos-Duffy.  Hopefully (assuming she still wants it) the third time would be the charm.

There is a third possibility.  It may be that The View itself is headed to oblivion.  Barbara Walters may be the next one to call it quits.  Until ABC makes an official announcement, the speculation will continue.  Stay tuned!

Apparently some fans of The View have PHSD: Post Hasselbeck Stress Disorder