I can’t believe I am going to talk about Barry Manilow

Posted on September 18, 2007 in the Politics, Ranting category

While normally I do not pay much attention to gossip shows with fluffy interviews, I found recent news about Barry Manilow and “The View” to be rather amusing.

Manilow was to be a guest on The View today; however, his appearance was canceled by show producer Bill Gedde because he refused to accept Manilow’s request that the show’s token conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck, not be present for his interview.

Unfortunately, the show was not willing to accommodate this simple request, so I bowed out . . . It’s really too bad because I’ve always been a big supporter of the show, but I cannot compromise my beliefs.
- Barry Manilow

Umm . . . ok.

There are several points that I will make here, so here they go in no particular order.

First - Kudos to the producer Bill Gedde for having the cojones to make this decision. I am far from being a fan of the show though it does provide some entertainment from time to time - previously, I would have thought that Manilow’s request would have been accepted graciously.

Second - As a conservative myself, it makes me smirk every time they label Elisabeth Hasselbeck a conservative. Really. Is this the best effort from ABC in order to give a balanced analysis of current events? While I agree that, when compared to Joy, Whoopie, or, eek . . Rosie, Hasselbeck’s opinions may seem puritanical, she is far from the conservative spokeswoman the media makes her out to be. Perhaps her point of view would be better developed if Joy would ever shut her mouth while Hasselbeck is trying to make a point. Anyhow, if they really wanted a conservative woman on the show, they would have contacted Ann Coulter.

Third - Perhaps the most important point here is that I truly feel for Barry Manilow. I mean, what must it be like to be him? To be intimidated by Elisabeth Hasselbeck? She’s got to be the most unassuming person on the show (not to mention a nice piece of eye candy). I just get a feeling that he is not comfortable with his own views enough to have them challenged. Its not like Hasselbeck is some conservative bulldog that is out to set all those crazy liberals right in their ways. If your opinions/beliefs are so weak that you just can’t possibly speak to someone with a differing point of view then I feel sorry for you.