Rosie and Joy Agree Air Pelosi Story's a "Distraction" and Hail Anti-GOP Man in Audience

The co-hosts of Thursday’s The View discussed the controversy surrounding Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her air travel preferences. Joy Behar downplayed it by shifting the blame to the vice president stating sarcastically, “the fact that Halliburton and Dick Cheney were in bed together for many years making money in Iraq, that’s too complicated. This is easy.” Rosie O’Donnell agreed asserting that “this is the art of distraction.”

Rosie then brought up how Anna Nicole Smith is distracting from the real news (note that this show first aired before news of Anna Nicole’s untimely death). Token non-liberal Elisabeth Hasselbeck asked Rosie and conspiracy theorist Joy Behar if Republicans are behind the Anna Nicole “distraction.”

Rosie and Joy both said no with Joy conceding “you can’t blame the Republicans for everything.” A man in the audience shouted out “why not?” Rosie loved that comment so much she exclaimed “I don’t know you, but I want to have lunch.” The entire transcript is below.

Joy Behar: “But this is one of those things that, that, that the other team can really pounce on. The fact that Halliburton and Dick Cheney were sort of in bed together for many years making money in Iraq that’s like too complicated. This is easy. Hey, Nancy Pelosi’s on an expensive plane. So everybody can sink their teeth into something like this. She should be careful of something like that.”

Rosie O’Donnell: “Because it’s the art of distraction. You know, big things going on in the news and if I have to see Anna Nicole Smith one more time on television, that woman and her paternity test. And she can hardly even speak now. She’s like something and she can’t even speak. She's like uuuhhhhh, you know. It's a tragedy all around. Her son died. She has this little baby. There’s obviously some kind of medication or substance involved. I don't know.”

Elisabeth Hasselbeck: “That's an odd situation.”

O’Donnell: “Or not involved, even worse. But it's sort of like distracting, the art of distraction. They don't want you to think about the things that are real.” 

Behar: “You’re right. That’s right.”

Hasselbeck: “Who doesn't?”

O’Donnell: “I think our culture now.”

Hasselbeck: “You think the Republicans are putting Anna Nicole on the TV?”

O’Donnell: “No.”

Hasselbeck: “I just wanted to check.”

Behar: “No. You can't blame the Republicans for everything.”

O’Donnell: “No.”

Hasselbeck: “We were there before. I just needed to take a test.”

O’Donnell: “‘Why not,’ said a man in the audience. Love you. I don't know who you are but I want to have lunch.”