Watching The View

The first topic on The View was the death of William F. Buckley. Elisabeth Hasselbeck had an affinity for him because he gave conservatives a forum and did it with such wit. She liked that he gained respect from people who disagreed with him politically. She said that we are indebted to him for the conversation that he created. Joy Behar joked that you needed a dictionary to follow a conversation with him. Whoopi Goldberg liked him and thought he was the strangest person she ever met. Joy said that he was against the war in Iraq and was for the legalization of marijuana. She said that Bill Cunningham, who claims to be a conservative, cannot shine the shoes of William F. Buckley. Elisabeth said that people highlight the extremes of the party, like Cunningham or Michael Moore on the liberal side.

Michael Bloomberg has announced that he will not run for president. Whoopi said that she likes him because his passion is to work for the betterment of the city of New York City. He could end up as Barack Obama’s running mate. Joy asked if a Black man and Jewish man a ticket would be successful. Elisabeth said that people are talking about how much more important the running mate would be because of the potential of harm coming to Barack Obama and how he will probably need extra security. Whoopi said that everyone is susceptible to people who disagree with them. One of campaign headquarters of Obama was vandalized and a racial slur was written.
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The first topic on The View today was that the hosts went out partying last night with Whoopi Goldberg. She had an event at the 21 Club. Joy Behar said that she is hungover. Sherri Shepherd said it was her first experience with fancy dinners. It was in a wine cellar with wine tasting and an eight course meal. Sherri said that Joy is really funny when she is drunk.

Whoopi said that she spoke with Gil Cates, producer of the Academy Awards called her and apologized for the oversight of leaving her out of the montage. She accepted his apology.

Whoopi also mentioned that she will be on QVC to sell her line of bedding on Thursday night.

The next topic was the Democratic debate. Joy said that the media has been relentlessly against Hillary Clinton during the campaign. Elisabeth brought up how Bill Cunningham was speaking and repeated Barack Obama’s full name; his middle name is Hussein. John McCain repudiated Cunningham’s comments and support. Whoopi said if you are running a campaign you should know who you are putting out there. Joy wished McCain would have repudiated the comment earlier in the campaign when one of his supporters called Hillary a “bitch” and McCain kind of laughed it off. Sherri said it is obvious what kind of fear Cunningham is trying to create by using Barack’s middle name.
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Thanks to all of your support and votes, Watching the View has won Project Blog! Thanks to Mark and all the other contestants on a hard fought race and a great competition.

To all of my readers, I truly could not have done this without all of you. It was your loyal voting that kept me in the competition week after week and your votes that helped push me to victory in the finale. I really appreciate each and every one of you!

Today’s recap will not be up until later. Feel free to comment about today’s show here in the meantime.
UPDATE: I need to know my days of the week better. The guests I listed were from Thursday. Oops! Anyway, Wednesday’s recap is up here: The View February 27th Recap: Valerie Bertinelli and Tracey Gold

Today’s scheduled guests are Donny Osmond and Nate Berkus. Also featured will be more of Whoopi Goldberg’s “Must-Haves.”

The View, Whoopi Goldberg, Donny Osmond, Nate Berkus

According to People magazine, Gil Cates, the producer of the Academy Awards telecast, feels “very, very badly” that Whoopi Goldberg was left out of a montage during this year’s ceremony which aired on Sunday.

He further stated that “No harm was intended. I’m going to call her and tell her that.” Gates also said that the montage was “80 exciting moments of the Academy Awards,” and not specifically a montage of hosts. He pointed out, as Whoopi stated on Monday’s episode of The View, that previous host Steve Martin was also not in the montage.

Cates added that Whoopi is “a formidable talent” and it was “an absolute oversight” to leave her out.

Academy Awards, Whoopi Goldberg, Gil Gates

Joy Behar was invited to the releasing of Lorraine Bracco’s wine line. She introduced Lorraine. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was there and people kept asking him if he is going to run for President and he said, “Why would I tell you?” He told Joy that he watches The View everyday. He “married” Barbara on the show during a fantasy wedding segment on the show. Joy told him that the marriage was never consummated. She asked Barbara if she wants that or is it enough that he will watch her next special. The next one is on the British Royal Family and will air next Monday.

They talked about The Moment of the Truth again. On last night’s episode it was revealed that the female contestant cheated on her husband. Whoopi thought that the woman was an actress because she looked familiar. Barbara said that people go on reality shows for money, saying that Elisabeth did Survivor for money. Elisabeth said that it wasn’t just for the money, but because she wanted to torture herself. She said that it is different on Moment of Truth because it can break up marriages, adding though that the marriage was probably broke at the point that she cheated on him. Sherri pointed out that there are positive reality shows like The Biggest Loser.

The next topic was the photo of Barack Obama in traditional African clothing when visiting his relatives. Barbara said that it has become a campaign thing because there are rumors that it was leaked by the Clinton campaign. She thinks that it is a disruption. Barbara showed photos of her in Saudi Arabia where she was wearing a traditional head covering. Whoopi said why would the Clintons release it because they have worn different clothing in various countries. Sherri said that it insults our intelligence if you think that it will cause people not to vote for Barack. Joy showed a photo of her when she said that she was “in touch with her inner African.” Sherri said she thinks that Joy has been trying to pass all these years and told her that she should still wear her hair that way. (Photo below)

President Bush said that the GOP will hold the White House and voters will elect a president who will keep up the war in Iraq. He said that he understands the mentality of the American people. Elisabeth joked that maybe people just don’t understand his. Joy said that Bush has been wrong on many many things for years. Elisabeth said that McCain understands the people because he has been in war. Barbara said that we don’t need to go back and forth about our positions and Elisabeth said, “Why? Because mine’s different?” Then Barbara let her speak and Elisabeth said that we are so focused on one side of the ticket and rightly so because it is such an important election. She added, however, that McCain has a way to deal with the country in a time of war because he supported the surge and he “gets it.” Barbara said that no matter how you feel about President Bush, he is alway so confident that he will be proven right. Joy said, “Some people think it is delusional.” Elisabeth said, “I knew you were going to say that!” Whoopi said that a president needs to admit when they are wrong.

Whoopi said that the candidates need to start talking about how they are going to protect the infrastructure of the FDA and keeping us safe. Joy said that research came out saying that obesity is more dangerous than terrorism and joked that a fat terrorist is the worst. Elisabeth said maybe it is because we have been safer in the past seven years. Barbara said that in her upcoming longevity special she learned that this is the first generation that may not live longer than their parents because of obesity. She said that part of the problem is that mothers are working and it is easier to get the fast food than to cook the way our mothers did. Whoopi said that her mom instilled in her that cookies are not dinner and she couldn’t have one until she ate her food. She said that parents need to instill in their children how to eat. Elisabeth said that not just snacks, but other prepackaged food available is not good for you, but that she is so busy she doesn’t have time to cook every night. Joy said that it is hard to have a job, take care of the husband, the house, and the kids and sometimes you have to throw a pizza in the oven. Barbara said that they are not knocking mothers. Whoopi said that high fructose corn syrup is not in products in Europe.
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This Thursday, Whoopi Goldberg will debut her “G. Beds” signature line of bedding on home shopping channel QVC.

From QVC:

“For me, my bed is the first and last word of my day. When people see it, they see an extension of who I am.” So says award-winning entertainment icon and passionate bedding aficionado Whoopi Goldberg. G Beds, her signature line of impeccable bedding ensembles, takes its inspiration from the people and places that have touched Whoopi’s extraordinary life. Whoopi has a deep connection with every pattern and joins us to share the stories behind this versatile collection, whether your bed is in an urban loft or a country hideaway. Sink into the luxurious quality of G Beds, and like Whoopi, make your bed all the things you want to be.

The hour of G. Beds will be Thursday, February 28th at 7:00 p.m. eastern on QVC.

The View, Whoopi Goldberg, G Beds, QVC

In my recap of today’s episode of The View, I wrote how Whoopi Goldberg was upset that she was left out of the Oscar montage that showed many of the previous hosts. Here is a clip of that discussion:

Today on The View they started the show talking about the Oscars. Sherri Shepherd said that she was kind of bored because she didn’t know any of the people. Barbara Walters joked that she remembers the first Oscars 80 years ago. She said that there were few people to get excited about this year and no one really knows this year’s main winners. She added that the movies were so dark and that there was “no Titanic.”

Elisabeth Hasselbeck said to Barbara “Thank goodness for your special” or she would have been bored all night. She said that dresses this year were all too safe. Barbara said that she hated her dress on her special. (I reviewed her special here). Barbara talked about the people on her special and got two of their names wrong. (”Aileen” Page (it was Ellen) and “Jennifer” Williams (it was Vanessa). Barbara revealed that it was Bill Geddie’s daughter who broke speed records to bring a guitar to the interview for Ellen Page to sing the song from the movie.

Sherri said that the Oscar montage that showed all the hosts of the Oscars didn’t include Whoopi. Whoopi said that they left out Steve Martin, too. Barbara said that it was supposed to be a montage of great Oscar moments and they did show her winning her Oscar. Sherri asked if she pissed someone off at the Oscars and Whoopi said “undoubtedly I did.” The hosts all expressed how they thought that she was great host and that she was the first female host, the first Black host, and the first Oscar winner to host. She said that their comments made up for the slight. Whoopi looked obviously upset about the whole thing and got out of her chair and gave each of the ladies a hug and a kiss of thanks.
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Did any of you watch Barbara Walters’ Oscar Special last night? I thought that the interviews were fairly short or at least seemed that way because she showed such long clips of them last week on The View. I felt like I had seen most of the content already. Add that to unnecessarily long introductions and long segues and the show was really light on substance.

I also did not like how oddly edited the interviews were, most notably the Vanessa Williams interview. There were several times that it was obvious that Vanessa had given longer answers, but they were edited down so that she just said, “Yes” without explanation. I suppose that is necessary to do for time purposes when you need to show Barbara talking for five minutes in front of a random house wearing an evening gown with an extremely high slit.

Barbara’s questions were annoying at times, especially when you could tell she was doing an “on the fly” follow-up questions. I did like the Harrison Ford interview, more so because of him than her, though. I couldn’t believe that she actually asked, in regard to Calista Flockhart’s adopted son, who Harrison no doubt considers to be his son, too, if they have “gotten close.” The look on Harrison’s face was great.

Let me know your thoughts if you watched it.

On her blog on Friday, Rosie O’Donnell had a video blog entry with friend Fran Drescher.

In the video, they said that they were going to be doing a sitcom together. I thought that they were just joking around or speaking hypothetically like Rosie often does (ex. her Jahero travel plans that didn’t materialize). However, today I was reading the “ask-Ro” section and she responded to questions about it:

Jeanette writes:

Fran D. is a doll! Are you and she really doing a sitcom together?

we is

anneC. writes:

Ro–will this new sitcom be done in NY? in front of a live audience?

yes

It remains unclear if Rosie will be starring the sitcom, writing it, or producing it (or all of the above). They also didn’t discuss the premise of the show. More details to come when available.

Rosie O’Donnell, Fran Drescher

Elisabeth Hasselbeck in her younger years

Barbara Walters plugged her Oscar special, which airs Sunday night at 7/6 central. She showed a clip of her interview with Miley Cyrus. She also interviewed Vanessa Williams, Harrison Ford and Ellen Page. In her first Oscar special 28 years ago she interviewed Brooke Shields, Loretta Lynn, Linda Gray, and Ringo Starr. It was highest rated special that she ever did. Barbara then showed a clip of her interview with Vanessa Williams in which Vanessa said that she experienced racism growing up and was called the n-word (which was bleeped out in the clip).

Whoopi Goldberg wanted to know why they bleeped it and Barbara said that you have to for daytime television, but you can leave it in for nighttime television. Whoopi said that it is ridiculous to pretend it doesn’t exist because it is out there. Sherri said that she has a big problem hearing the word, especially from white people because she heard it so much growing up in a white suburban neighborhood. Whoopi said that you can only be stopped by that word if you think it is what you are, similar to the word stupid. Whoopi said that she would rather hear you say the actual word rather than smile and say “n-word.” Barbara said that she would be massacred if she said it. Whoopi said that the problem with the word is that no one wants to discuss it.

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2/25 - A Day of Real Life Hot Topics; Whoopi & Sherri Shepherd at the Toy Show

2/26 - Nathan Lane (”November”); Bitsie Tulloch (”Quarter Life”)

2/27 - Valerie Bertinelli ; Tracey Gold (”Secret Life of a Soccer Mom”)

2/28 - Whoopi’s “Must-Haves”; Donny Osmond (”College Road Trip”) ; Nate Berkus (”Oprah’s Big Give”)

2/29 - Woody Harrelson (”Semi Pro”); Global Beauty Secrets

Today on The View, the first topic was the news that John McCain may have had an inappropriate relationship with a lobbyist, Vicki Iseman. He spoke this morning and said that he knows the woman, but didn’t have an affair with her. Joy Behar said that because she is a lobbyist it is a bit tricky. Elisabeth said that he is the least likely to take favors for something. She said that this exposes the liberal basis of The New York Times and these are unfounded claims. McCain was one of “The Keating 5″ and the article talks about how he has worked over his career to overcome that involvement by being the most ethical person. Barbara said that it is a shadow that follows him. Elisabeth said that she thought he was released from that. Barbara said that he did not, but he did not go to jail for it.

Joy said that if the Times were out to get McCain, wouldn’t they have brought it out earlier before he all but secured the nomination? Elisabeth said it is more awful that they held the story, because if they are a newspaper, they should have brought it out when they learned it. Elisabeth said that Times is erring on the side of being a tabloid, because the story was on the front page and not even in the op-ed section. Whoopi said that it shows that it starts hitting the fan when you get in the forefront. She said that is why she can never run because of what is in her closet and under her foundation. Joy said that this is deja vu like what happened with Bill Clinton. Barbara said it is not the same thing. Elisabeth said that he has a right to defend himself because they are on the attack.

Joy said that she wonders if there is any chance that the story against McCain may have come from the far right-conservative movement like Rush Limbaugh because they don’t want him as the nominee. Elisabeth said to leave no stone unturned to see who gave the story. Sherri said that she feels for Cindy McCain because she had a similar experience. She said that Cindy is publicly having to support her husband and hoping to God that he isn’t lying.
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At the start of The View today, Barbara Walters complimented Whoopi Goldberg on her new haircut. Whoopi said that she is trying to keep up with the panel, although it is a bit short.

Barbara said that she did two interviews with Fidel Castro, one 25 years ago that was the first in-depth interview with him. The second interview was in 2002. In that interview, he said that he would not step down unless he was incapacitated. He added that he whether stays in power is not up to him, it is up to the people, and they may consider it treason if he stepped down. She said that he must be very ill to have stepped down this week. Barbara said that she has a lot of fear in real life, but not doing interviews. She had to keep in mind that Castro was very charismatic and had to remind herself that he was a dictator.
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