The View Television Program

reporting from los angeles reporting from new york "The View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who vociferously defends the Republican presidential ticket on the air, is now going to be an official campaign surrogate. The conservative daytime talk-show panelist announced Thursday that she is set to introduce Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at two rallies in Florida on Sunday after the GOP vice presidential hopeful invited her to join her on the campaign trail.

Donald Trump has called Barbara Walters a liar and Rosie O'Donnell a loser. On Wednesday, they both fired back. "Well, he's at it again," said O'Donnell, referring to a letter written to her by Trump that said Walters had told him that working with O'Donnell on ABC's "The View" is like "living in hell." "That poor, pathetic man," said Walters to whoops of approval from the studio audience.

IT was Tuesday morning on "The View" and Elisabeth Hasselbeck was outnumbered, again. That's not unusual on ABC's tumultuous daytime coffee klatch, which has emerged as a pop culture staple this season with its freewheeling showdowns on subjects as varied as premarital chastity and prewar intelligence failures. The topic this time: Don Imus and the slur he used to describe the Rutgers University women's basketball team.

THERE are actually guests every day on "The View." And no doubt a few people tune in for the chance to see John Lithgow or Lorraine Bracco. But most "View"-ers are there for the ladies -- Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Rosie O'Donnell. Especially Rosie O'Donnell.

And then there were three. Rosie O'Donnell's decision to exit "The View" at the end of this season will leave Barbara Walters, Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck to tussle at the show's table. Her departure threatens to stall the momentum of the ABC gabfest, just as it was emerging as one of the top five daytime programs on broadcast television.

Alec Baldwin's appearance on "The View" on Friday began with the lie that the conversation was live. It had been pre-taped Wednesday, with highlights popping up on the Internet and Barbara Walters going on "Good Morning America" to plug the exclusive. "I want to make sure we get this because we're a live show," Walters said to Baldwin on fake Friday, trying to get the actor to talk about whether he was serious about quitting "30 Rock." Why not reveal the interview was pre-taped?

There was another announcement on "The View" Monday. But this one wasn't as dramatic as Rosie O'Donnell's disclosure last week that she would be leaving the daytime ABC talk show. Instead, co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck revealed that she was pregnant again. Hasselbeck, 29, and her husband, pro football player Tim Hasselbeck, have a 2-year-old daughter, Grace. "When you said you had an announcement, my heart sank!" joked Barbara Walters, co-host and creator of "The View."

Rosie O'Donnell has only a month left on "The View," but after engaging in a bitter on-air clash Wednesday with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, she appears ready to leave the ABC daytime program any day now. The two women have sparred about politics all season. But their debate erupted into a heated quarrel Wednesday when O'Donnell complained that the younger woman has failed to defend her against conservative critics.

A day after she and Elisabeth Hasselbeck clashed angrily on "The View," Rosie O'Donnell took the day off Thursday to celebrate her partner Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell's 40th birthday and indicated that she is unsure whether she will return to the program. O'Donnell told a viewer on her personal blog that she has "no idea" when or if she will go back on the ABC daytime talk show for the remaining month of her contract.

Rosie O'Donnell's turbulent tenure on "The View" officially came to an end Friday as ABC announced that the outspoken comedian had asked to be let out of her contract nearly a month early. O'Donnell's abrupt exit from the program comes two days after she and co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck quarreled bitterly on the air over statements O'Donnell had made about the war in Iraq. After their fight, O'Donnell hinted on her personal blog that she did not want to return to the show.