Today on The View was the long awaited appearance by Barack Obama. The show was taped on Thursday, which is typical for Friday shows. Everyone (except Whoopi of course) looked a little dressier than they typically do on a Friday.
A hotel chain in Oregon has taken bibles out of the drawers in the rooms, but you can order it like room service. Sherri Shepherd doesn’t like it because she has to wait to get the bible and might have to tip. Whoopi said that it is better that way because they would need a big drawer to fit all the relevant books for different faiths. She suggested they have a “hotel religion” that combines them all. Elisabeth said that maybe she should BYOB. Sherri has a travel bible, but the print is hard to read. Joy said that she read that some people think that Noah’s Ark is related to Joan of Arc.
Reverend Wright made a statement about Italians “looking down their garlic noses” during the time of the crucification of Jesus. Whoopi said people were worried about JFK because his spiritual leader was the Pope. She said that Wright is not running for president and stupid things are said all the time. Barbara said that you cannot compare them because we are not talking about Barack’s religion, but rather his mentor saying discriminatory things to the people in the church, including children. Sherri said that he has also taught the children about the importance of community. Barbara said that we know that and that is not what we are talking about.
Joy said that those recent comments were not offensive, because the Roman nose has been celebrated in art and it should be a complement. Elisabeth compared it to the uproar when people exaggerated Jewish people’s noses. Joy said that is different because the Jews have been oppressed and discriminated against and the Roman nose has not been used as a negative thing.
There are greeting cards for loved ones serving time in prison. Whoopi read a few out loud in a mocking tone. Sherri read one and dedicated it to her cousin in prison. The “Merry Christmas” card had handcuffs on it and said something about how the prisoner had been naughty. Barbara said that she has been to lots of prisons and said that the prisoners need quarters for the vending machines when they have visitors.
There is a new book that says that women lie about how much clothing costs, whether they had plastic surgery, and their husband’s job. Sherri said that she would lie if sex was bad with her husband. Joy said that you have to have a photographic memory to be a good liar. Elisabeth said that is a quote from Lincoln. Joy asked Barbara if Lincoln said that to her.
Barack Obama got a standing ovation when he came out and cordially greeted all of the ladies. Barbara said that she re-read Dreams from My Father. She asked him what she should do when Joy makes fun of her. Barack said to let jokes roll of you and it is the only way that you can survive. You have to be able to take constructive criticism, but you have to know that not everything you say will make everyone happy.
Joy Behar said that she heard that Barack was related to Brad Pitt. Barack said that they are ninth cousins or something. He joked that Brad got the better looking part of the gene pool. Barbara told him that they all think that he is very sexy looking. He looked a bit embarrassed and said thank you.
Barbara asked Barack about Reverend Jeremiah Wright. When the Don Imus situation happened, Barack said that no one would remain on his staff who made comments like that about any race. Barack said that people need to understand that the reverend has retired and is no longer preaching. He added that the United Church of Christ itself is mostly white denomination, but he attends one of the few black churches. It is one of the most active churches in the community and Reverend Wright had a reputation as one of the best preachers. He never heard Reverend Wright say many of the things that have offended people, as he gave three sermons a week. He said that the statements were more offensive for their characterization of America than race. It doesn’t excuse what he said, but he was someone caught in a time warp after having lived through the 1950s and 1960s.
Barack stated, “Had the reverend not retired. Had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn’t have felt comfortable staying at the church.”
Elisabeth said that his speech at the Democratic National Convention was captivating because it talked about one America, but that the person he chose as his spiritual adviser said these divisive statements. He said that you have only seen snippets of this man. He said to imagine that someone took the five stupidest thing you ever said and put it on a continuous loop. Elisabeth said that they sell it on DVDs at the church. He said that he doesn’t buy all the DVDs or read all the bulletins.
Barack said that his speech at the DNC was not to suggest that we don’t have real divisions, but rather a speech of hope for the future. He said that people have some good and some bad about them. His goal has been to get people to understand each other who have very different opinions on things. Whoopi said that sounds like The View. Barack said that he talked to Reverend Wright since this has happened and he is saddened by what has happened. Barack feels badly that Reverend Wright has been characterized based on these isolated comments. He read an article recently that a white parishioner wrote about how Reverend Wright had counseled his African-American girlfriend (now wife) to marry him when she expressed doubts about marrying a white man. Barack said that these are things that you don’t hear about.
Whoopi asked him what the first three things he would do if he were elected President. He will call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff and give them a new mission to responsibly and honorably begin a withdrawal from Iraq. He wants us to be careful getting out and protect our troops, but the only way to stabilize the area is to make sure the Iraqi government functions. He said that won’t happen if we remain there. He would then put forward legislation to give every American health care. If you have health care, they will work with your employer to lower the premiums. If you don’t have health care, you can get it, subsidized if necessary. The third thing that he would do is deal with the energy crisis. He said that we make Iran and Russian wealthier by pushing up the price of gas. He said we need to invest in alternate fuels and lower emissions. He added that there might be some crisis management with the economy that he may have to tackle first.
Joy asked Barack if he will be able to handle what comes at him during the campaign, noting that John Kerry thought he would be able to, but then he got swiftboated. Barack said, “I’m skinny, but I’m tough.” He added that “there have been some tough punches thrown in this Democratic primary. It’s not like I’m been taking a cake walk through this primary.” He handles the attacks by answering “honestly, swiftly, forcefully and truthfully. I think the truth is a powerful weapon.” He added when you say what you really believe, without exaggeration or retaliation, it can be disarming. He said that Kerry didn’t answer quickly enough.
Barack said that his wife, Michelle, will not sit in at his cabinet meetings. She doesn’t want to and her priorities are their two children. She will find projects if she is first lady to help children in the United States. She does not have a burning desire to be a policy maker on a day-to-day basis. He added that everyone knows by know that she is even a better speaker than he is.
Sherri said that after she heard his speech on race, she changed her opinion and wants to campaign for him. She then asked him whether he thinks the campaign has gotten dirty. He doesn’t think the campaign has gotten dirty, but it has gotten contentious, especially among the surrogates. He said that Hillary Clinton is a bright strong public servant and they will remain friends. He said once this is all done, the party will come together. He said that once he beats John McCain, he will try to bring both sides together He doesn’t believe that the Democrats have the monopoly on wisdom. He wants to listen to people, which the current President has not done, and get a diversity of people. He said that we have more in common than what drives us apart. Most people want the same things, like a job with a living wage, health care, safety, and dignity and respect when they retire.
Barack said that he doesn’t want taxes to increase. He would rollback the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Sherri said that Barbara will be in trouble. He wants to cut taxes for those who make under $75,000 a year, which should make it revenue neutral. He wants to give help to people who bought homes and didn’t know what they were getting into. He doesn’t want to reward those who took on too much knowingly, but those who didn’t know what they were getting into need help.
Barack said that they should have his wife Michelle on the show because then she can “dish the dirt.”
At the end of the show, Whoopi said to John McCain that they would love him to come on the show…and Hillary too.
The View, Barack Obama, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Sherri Shepherd, Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters
Today’s episode of The View was new, despite the fact that the rest of the week are reruns. Today’s episode was pretaped sometime last week (they didn’t say it was “live” at the beginning). 
Here is the View schedule for March 31st to April 4th. Tuesday through Friday are reruns (OAD=original airdate). There is no indication that Monday is a rerun, although it seems odd to me that the would have one new episode on a Monday and then the rest of the week off. Maybe it is new but pretaped? We’ll have to wait and see.
Today on The View, Joy Behar was absent due to illness. Whoopi Goldberg and Barbara Walters tried to do some sort of joke, recounting an conversation that morning where Whoopi told Barbara she was an alien from Mars. Whoopi could not remember her line and the whole thing was a bit awkward.
The first topic today on The View was Whoopi Goldberg’s daughter’s injury. Alex was in the crowd and had a brace on her leg. She injured herself when she was cheering herself during bowling.
Whoopi Goldberg finally returned to The View today after a week long absence due to illness. Whoopi thought that Barack Obama’s speech on race last week was “magnificent.” She understands why Obama has not distanced himself from Rev. Wright, the person. She is still friends with Newt Gingrich, even thought they disagree politically. She also pointed out that there are white preachers who say outrageous things and people are saying they should distance themselves from them. Elisabeth said that they disagree on the issue because she would never stay with someone who is a racist.
I missed the first few moments of The View today because, despite the fact that it is spring, my local channel had a weather update to talk about our current snow storm.
Still no Whoopi Goldberg on today’s episode of The View, as she is still sick at home with bronchitis. The first topic, again, was whether it is worse to have a prostitute or a mistress. Joy Behar said prostitute is worse if the governor is spending her money. Sherri Shepherd said that mistress is worse because of the emotional attachment. (Do none of them remember having this exact same conversation before?) Elisabeth said she wants neither and would rather take the bullet. Barbara asked for who and she said both.
Liz Smith wrote in her column today that she attended a dinner party thrown by Barbara Walters for her boyfriend, Dr. Robert Butler, in honor of his book The Longevity Revolution: The Benefits and Challenges of Living a Long Life. It is no coincidence, of course, that longevity is also the subject of Barbara Walters next special, which airs on April 1st.
