A Hasselfree Kind of View

Since Obama’s election win I’ve seen small passionate groups of people protesting the war on the street, and had strangers speak with such sincerity to me and my children that it makes my heart swell. There seems to have been an overwhelming surge of sanity in our country since Obama’s win. My strongest example of this is Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s words on the November 5th airing of The View.

Now I know Mrs. Hasselbeck has already gone back into defense mode to some extent. Spouting unfounded claims about Proposition 8 doesn’t improve anyone’s mental capacity. But her sentiment toward our next president was a pleasant surprise. I purposefully watched The View on November 5th. I wanted to see what Elizabeth had to say now that her candidate had lost. She explained sitting her daughter, Grace, on her lap to watch Obama’s acceptance speech that morning. Her little girl immediately recognized Barack Obama and Elizabeth encouraged her excitement, telling Grace that he was our new President. When Grace asked who’d lost the election, Elizabeth told her no one had, because our country had gained such a great leader. Impressed, I continued to be baffled when she said she was ready to get in line behind Obama’s supporters, and that she feels like he has a talent for bringing people together and inciting action.


The relief that the election was over was evident on everyone’s face, but especially Mrs. Hasselbeck’s. It was almost as if she had gone back to her previously non-GOP-crazy self. That version of Elizabeth is one I have always liked. She first came under my radar on the Style Network, where she hosted a really entertaining show called “The Look For Less”. When she began her co-hosting duties on The View I was excited. Not knowing she was a Republican, I saw her as a supremely creative and intelligent young woman. She has a degree in Fine Arts and shared words with the audience after her daughter was born that I still take to heart. Incidentally, they were about remembering to do something creative everyday to preserve that part of one self as a new mother. When the slightly-psychotic behavior over an invite to W’s ball at the White House started I knew she was in trouble. With her intense behavior during the last two elections, not many of her opposing party see her as the clever and inspired anymore.

I’m hoping that the ladies of The View can allow Elizabeth to reclaim her place as the creative leader of the group; exemplifying the bridge between their political parties that we know Obama himself intends to build. As a mother, I think Elizabeth does a fantastic job, and that part of her needs to shine right now. She shouldn’t be demonized for her beliefs, even though she’s more than a little over the top. The View benefits greatly from her argumentative personality; she has brought her show worldwide news coverage more than any other host in the last couple of years.
I smiled so much on November 5th that my face hurt by bedtime, and even now, whenever I think of the places our country will be able to go now I almost cry. I know people like Elizabeth prayed for a different outcome in this election, but I also desire for the hope of this time in America to continue to be infectious for all her citizens.