Meant to blog about this yesterday but I took off to the newsroom and left my notes at home. Was watching "The View" to see if there would be any mention of Rosie's suggestion that Barbara Walters retire. But, no dice.
Then something even better happened: Elisabeth Hasselbeck was essentially told she was off-point by Whoopi Goldberg and to shut up by Walters.
The NY Post printed a blow-by-blow which I'm lifting from because it's got all the good details: The outburst began when Hasselbeck mentioned Monica Lewinsky in a discussion about presidential candidate Mitt Romney's Mormon religion and how a small sect of Mormons still practice polygamy. The Monica reference triggered an avalanche of reaction from Whoopi Goldberg - and then Barbara.
"This is a good woman who has gotten a masters degree at the London School of Economics!" raged Walters, poking her finger at Hasselbeck's face. She pulled her hand back suddenly, took a flustered breath, and continued in a calmer tone. "She's doing her best to have a life. Enough with Monica, everybody can move on."
Goldberg requested that Hasselbeck - a conservative who famously clashed with Rosie O'Donnell last season - not bring Lewinsky up again.
"I'm asking you to do me a favor because there's no reason for it today," Goldberg said. "This has nothing to do with Bill Clinton."
Hasselbeck justified mentioning Lewinsky because the women were joking about Romney one day announcing he had a second wife.
"You're worried if some other woman would come out of the closet as the 'other woman,' " Hasselbeck sputtered. "It's not that much of a jump" to Monica. We've seen that before where another woman popped up" in the White House."
Walters, almost shouting, then said, "DO YOU THINK..." Then she took a breath and started again asking Hasselbeck if there would EVER be a Democratic candidate that you would NOT be against?

My take: I wonder if Hasselbeck is becoming a liability in the way that Star Jones did. I'd love to see ABC's polls on this. I don't sense that the studio audience connects with her anymore or respects her. Her upcoming maternity leave could come at a bad time for her because with Whoopi and Sherri Shepherd (not exactly a bleeding heart liberal) on board, the show might clearly be better without her.
There is precedent for this: When Deborah Norville went on maternity leave from "The Today Show" back in 1991, Katie Couric was the substitute co-host. Katie was so popular that Norville, unfairly tainted because she had replaced the beloved Jane Pauley, never returned to the show.