The women of "The View" are very smart. Just ask Joy Behar. Connecting recent McCain campaign charges of sexism and the famously tough interview on the September 16 edition, Barbara Walters asked the panel if it is sexist to complain that five women were grilling McCain. Behar instantly replied "no, I think maybe they don’t expect us to be as smart as we are." Behar then added "we have a chat show in the daytime and they don’t respect that Barbara."

Perhaps "The View" would be a little bit more respected if the co-hosts conversed in a more intelligent fashion. If the ladies are really smart as Joy claims, they certainly have not shown it on camera.

• Joy Behar blamed the high rate of hospital deaths on the lack of germs, not the obvious point that people dying tend to get rushed to the hospital
• Joy also blamed seismic activity, relating to the earth’s shifting plates, on global warming.
• Behar’s lack of intelligence is exposed when attempting to debate a knowledgable person.
• Not only Joy, but the entire panel demonstrated a lack of knowledge in the history of the Constitution and the electoral college. Joy actually learned the facts when watching HBO.
• "View" co-host Sherri Shepherd has her share of doltishness admitting she "never thought" about the shape of the earth and confused the historic time line between the ancient Greeks and Jesus.

If boasting about "The View" panel’s "intelligence" was not enough for Joy Behar, she had to belittle the intelligence of others. Behar also jokingly expressed sympathy for Sarah Palin’s "cramming," suggesting she is not up to speed on world affairs. When reminded that McCain and Obama are close in the polls, Behar dismissed the American people proclaiming "they don’t get it."

Also, when addressing the controversy of the ladies’ very hard hitting interview with Senator McCain, Whoopi Goldberg asserted "everybody asked legitimate questions that you would ask of any candidate." Most people would not consider a question of returning America to slavery legitimate.

Relevant portions of the transcript are below.

BARBARA WALTERS: When we’re talking about sexist and we’re not too sure what the word means, depending upon how you feel, we were criticized for being very tough on Senator McCain. Our feeling was he’s a presidential candidate and we were asking questions that we thought were important that other people wanted to know. And we’ve been criticized and made fun of a little bit. Is that sexist? Is that because we’re five women. If the same questions had been asked by George Stephanopoulos or on "Meet the Press," would they have said "oh how tough"? Or is it because we are five women who are supposed to be what, lighter, funnier? Is that sexist?

JOY BEHAR: No, I think that maybe they don’t expect us to be as smart as we are.

WALTERS: Why, because we are five women?

BEHAR: Because we have a chat show in the daytime and they don’t respect it. That’s the fact Barbara.

[...]

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: The questions that we asked- everybody asked legitimate questions that you would ask of any candidate. The difference between us and everybody else is we are not saying all we do is news, all we do is fluff. I don’t remember, and maybe you all had a different definition before I came. But I don’t remember this show ever being a show where people didn’t ask questions if there was a provocative guest.

WALTERS: Yes, and we’ll do the same thing with Obama.

GOLDBERG: Yes, and when Obama comes, and I hope he gets here soon cause people are starting to talk. I, I think we will ask him the same kinds of questions because they’re the nominees. And I find this idea that people think we were too hard or too soft or we picked the bones- I don’t think that’s legit.

ELISABETH HASSELBECK: I said the other day, these interviews are not- sure. It’s not a date. It’s an interview.

GOLDBERG: Yeah.

[...]

BEHAR: Imagine poor Sarah Palin. All the cramming she’s doing and how exhausted she must be.

HASSELBECK: She’s been working in government.

BEHAR: She must be so- I remember cramming for an exam, it was exhausting.

[laughter]

HASSELBECK: Don’t, don’t equate her to a girl in high school who is trying to-

BEHAR: College.

HASSELBECK: I almost wish that for this election-

WALTERS: She knows about oil. She knows about oil.

HASSELBECK: -which is so important for this time. You want to talk about why we’re in this war and our economy and we need to improve in terms of, you know, oil production and being less dependent on foreign sources for it. Alaska is crucial in this discussion.

[...]

BEHAR: My daughter, my daughter said to me yesterday, and you know, she’s an artist and she watches TV and reads the papers. But she’s not up on all of these newsy things. She said "well, since Bush and the Republicans have been in office for eight years, why don’t they just connect the dots?" And I thought that, that was a pretty wise thing to say.

WALTERS: Well, that’s the question that we asked.

BEHAR: Just connect the dots.

HASSELBECK: McCain is a different person than Bush. To equate him with Bush is obtuse

BEHAR: Who’s been in charge? He was there all that time, hasn’t he? That’s what he’s running on is experience.

HASSELBECK: No, he is not. I think to equate McCain with Bush is, is-

BEHAR: Who’s being obtuse Elisabeth?

WALTERS: He’s been a Republican.

BEHAR: And he has the same policies.

HASSELBECK: Then why are the polls so close? When you see half of the country now-

BEHAR: But they don’t get it yet.

HASSELBECK: No, they get- these American people get it. There are smarter people out there. The American people are smart.