Whoopi and Sherri Shepherd are likely to join "The View"

It really will take two women to replace the irreplaceable Rosie O'Donnell on "The View" and even then, it probably won't be enough. But it could be good enough because those two women, according to several credible reports, are Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd. I've seen them both sub several times and Shepherd is a HOOT! She brings a lot of life and light to the show. I was initially anti-Whoopi for the roile of moderator even though I like her as an actress and a talk show guest. But I like her politics and she has a way of taking the wind out of that knuckle-headed Elisabeth "George Bush is God" Hasslebeck in a way that Rosie could not and Joy Behar could not. Whoopi is cool, people respect her, she's lived, she's won an Oscar, she's a grandmother...she is a real woman who was once a welfare mom. She's always found a way to re-invent herself whether it's on a sitcom, on "Star Trek," hosting the Oscars or making movies like "The Color Purple," "Ghosts of Mississippi," "Boys on the Side," "Sister Act" and, of course, "Ghost." This is her latest chapter and it feels right. And, good God, to have TWO women of color? Hooray! Good move and not because it's politically correct - it's just smart because of what these two women bring to the table. We will see if they can make this a water-cooler show again and help ratings soar - something Roisie was able to do so magnificantly.
The trade papers reported late Thursday that ABC is in final negotiations with Goldberg. Brian Frons, the daytime president of ABC, told Variety that there was no closed deal but that he thought Goldberg was terrific during her guest hosting stint on The View. Variety also reported that ABC is in talks with Shepherd to join the show. She is best known for her role in the sitcom "Less Than Perfect" and in the recent short-lived ABC show "Wedding Bellles." She was also the guest host in June when O'Donnell and Hasselbeck had an on-air argument so severe that O'Donnell ended up leaving the show three weeks ahead of scheduled.
With Hasslebeck about to give birth to a little Republican and Barbara Walters closer to 80 than she is to 70, "The View" is badly in need of some fresh faces.