Why I’ll Miss Rosie

Rosie O’Donnell’s recent stint on the View got me thinking about the days (mid-90’s) when I used to watch her talk show. I remember that I really liked her talk show, and because I can’t stand the View, I’ve been trying to figure out what exactly was so appealing about it (to eighth-grade Faith). What I remember first and foremost was that she was a pop culture fan, like me. When famous people came on, she got star struck just like I did at home, and because she was so star-struck she didn’t try to make the show as much about herself (like say, Jay Leno, who will cut off an interviewee at any chance to make his own joke). It seems that now Rosie has devolved into self-caricature, which is why it’s so easy for people to make fun of her. Clearly, she understands that she was brought to the show to play a part.

It’s also one of my pet peeves when people complain that Rosie (or other celebrities) are “political.” I say that in a country where half the population doesn’t vote, anyone famous being political is a pretty good thing. I liked that she said controversial things about the war on TV, because at least it got people talking about major issues and she was the rare host who could go from talking about the war to talking about American Idol intelligently.

(But Faith! All Rosie ever does is yell! And all anyone else does is yell back! How is this at all effective?)

First, let’s be honest, the reason people kept talking about her and Hasselbeck’s showdown was that it was between middle-aged women who (if we are to take a cue from shows like Rachael Ray and Martha Stewart) are apparently only supposed to talk about the latest summer BBQ recipes and slimming pants. It’s the men in suits on Crossfire who are supposed to yell at each other! Furthermore, maybe I think that rhetoric doesn’t have to be persuasive to be effective, and maybe I think that it’s good that people are finally shouting about something that really matters.