Newsweek Shocked Elisabeth Hasselbeck Not 'Being Mean'

February 4th, 2008 11:11 PM

Newsweek interviewed right-leaning Elisabeth Hasselbeck from ABC's The View, noting her new venture, a baby blog (for Dreft.com). Interviewer Ramin Setoodeh asked why she took only six weeks of maternity leave. "I can't leave that table too long. Are you kidding me? How would my side ever get told?" The interview strangely ended with Newsweek professing surprise this Republican wasn't a meanie:

Thank you for not being mean.
It's bizarre. People are, like, she must be witchy. I think it's the liberal bias in the media that I'm the one who's argumentative.

Hasselbeck's current main liberal foil on The View, Joy Behar, gave an interview to the Hartford Courant, and this exchange was interesting:

Q:Your show, "The View," is aimed at a female audience. Is a just-for-girls' show dated?

A: Not at all. Women aren't interested in what men have to say. They are interested in what women have to say, and this is a show geared for women. That is a very liberated position. I'm a feminist; so is Whoopi. I don't know about the other two. They're young.