A little background, if you're blessedly unfamiliar: New York Post political cartoonist Sean Delonas has always been a bigoted idiot, but people are just now realizing it after Delonas authored a cartoon where a monkey is shot and killed for authoring the stimulus bill—an uncomfortable, fraught comparison to make when dealing with our first black president. This is something that could be understood by almost anyone—even Elisabeth Hasselbeck! However, Barbara (already bleary-eyed from watching back-to-back episodes of The Mentalist on her DVR last night) had an alternate explanation for the outrage: "Because it's a black monkey." Audience laughter and the confused interventions of her cohosts did not deter Walters from pressing her case until Sherri Shepherd finally thought, "What the hell?" and said, "If it was a white monkey, I still would be offended." We wouldn't! They're adorable.

• The View [ABC]

First, Shepherd told the tale of a sponsor-approved trip to Disneyland she took alongside her son and the cheating, not-yet-divorced husband she loathes (a definition of marriage plucked either from the Bible or The Lockhorns—we're not sure which). Her cohosts couldn't quite believe that Shepherd hadn't a) divorced his ass and b) told her son that they were separated yet. After all, sniffed a disapproving Walters, what would Shepherd say to her child when she began dating again? That's when the View's flat-earther said she would follow the example Barbara used with her own daughter: explain away all her late-night, gentlemen callers as a series of "uncles" with whom she has some decidedly nonfamilial familiarity. As a recoiling Walters bared her teeth, she hissed, "I was not married at the time [that I banged all those dudes, including a purring, tender Henry Kissinger]." No, but they were!

In other View news, somnolent guest Patricia Arquette revealed just how Sacha Baron Cohen crashed the Medium set for his upcoming film Bruno: he pretended to be Ben Silverman's cousin. Also, a flower bloomed on Elisabeth Hasselbeck's pirate shirt today. It's springtime!

• The View [ABC]

Here at Defamer, we've put on our Yenta hats to help Rourke weigh his (plentiful) options.

COURTNEY LOVE: If the British tabloids are to be believed (and we are praying to Jesus, Santa, and Barack Obama that they've nailed this particular story), Rourke has been secretly dating Courtney Love for the past three weeks. Obviously, this would be an amazing red carpet duo—just think of the money that could be saved on pre-ceremony, his-and-hers collagen injections!
Likeliness: 8. Love has been to the Oscar ceremony once before and she's not about to turn down her only shot to go again. Hold on with your wraithlike fingers and ride that misshapen pony to the Academy Awards, girl!

BAI LING: If there's anyone who could possibly outdo Love as Rourke's date, it's former fling Bai Ling. In fact, if there's anyone who could possibly outdo Bjork's infamous swan dress, it's Bai Ling. We're crossing our fingers that her potential Oscar frock of rubber bands, jelly bracelets, and nipple-covering sand dollars comes to fruition.
Likeliness: 6. Bai's early surge has seemed to fade. "Mickey is a powerful actor, I respect and enjoy his work and I am his big surportor [sic] and fan, he is going to win Oscar for sure," she recently wrote on her blog. In other words, it was an honor just to be nominated.

LOKI: Rourke's elderly chihuahua Loki has thus far been his most frequent red carpet companion.
Likeliness: 9. There's little that could tear Loki from Rourke's side—except that proven temptress Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

EVAN RACHEL WOOD: What better promotion for The Wrestler than to bring costar/onscreen daughter/french-kissing partner Evan Rachel Wood as his date?
Likeliness: 3. "I feel disrespected by the press and by Mr. Rourke," Wood recently said. Potential upside: maybe she was talking about this guy?

THE FRENCH FLASHER: If Rourke wants to strengthen The Wrestler's overseas profile, there's no better way than to squire the Parisian pixie who unexpectedly bared her breasts to him.
Likeliness: 4.We're holding out hope, if only to hear the red carpet fashionistas ask, "Who aren't you wearing?"

The ladies were discussing Ashley Judd's PSA that slams the aerial killing of wolves—as well as Sarah Palin, who enjoys that sort of hunting because what else is there to do in Alaska (they could really use a Pinkberry or a Color Me Mine!)? Abruptly, Hasselbeck attempted to wrench the conversation into odder, Bill Geddie-suggested waters: "Is [Judd] as loud about the 260,000 kids that are killed in abortions," she asked (though we enjoy her clear faltering when she realizes, "Yep, I'm really about to say this. Better commit to it!"). This went over poorly, to say the least, so Hasselbeck naturally sought to top herself by calling the entire panel "socialist." Phenomenal! Pirate shirt, we've missed you. Don't ever go away again.

• The View [ABC]

The game, which was probably invented by Barack Obama and William Ayers during a sex-having orgy with illegal immigrants, was brought to Hasselbeck's attention when she interrogated a local third grader for tips on improving her Wii Bowling score. Apparently, Wii Fit's balance board (which measures body mass index) has shown the child a frightening glimpse of his future as an obese shut-in frantically posting "FIRST!!1!!" on redstate.com blog entries. So what, Joy Behar said. Shouldn't overweight kids be told the truth? Haha, Joy, The View is no place for simple logic. Elisabeth Hasselbeck is now going to trade her Wii for a PlayStation 3, which will never tell her she looks fat (and also won't work anymore after the third time she stands on it).

• The View [ABC]

This will be Hasselbeck's third child, joining Grace and the one who got thrown into Gitmo for headbutting President Bush. The baby is due in August (placing its conception date somewhere between Hasselbeck's incense controversy and The View's last guest appearance by Andy Dick...uh-oh), as only recently did Hasselbeck become aware that her post-election vomiting was likely due to the circle of life. The baby will be named William Ayers McCartney Sheetzucacapoopoo Hasselbeck; send your gifts and donations to SarahPAC.

• The View [ABC]

And to Barbara Walters's dismay, his choice isn't her—no matter how any blandishments she lavished upon the actor after catching him in nothing but a tight t-shirt in his dressing room (inspiring fourgy dreams involving Michael Phelps and Simon Baker too graphic to be described here). No, the apple of Rourke's eye is our own Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who virtually clambers over Joy Behar after getting the "groupie go-ahead" from the Wrestler star. At least they'll have a lot to talk about.

• The View [ABC]

In the old days, when "William Ayers" was just a whisper on the winds of the future instead of a frequent shriek during the 10am television hour, our dear young Lizzie (do we think she was a Lizzie? Maybe a Beth?) was a White Album-obsessed braceface who would eventually graduate from Boston College with a concentration on large paintings and industrial design. Who knew? And what happened? She pulled one of those teenage paintings out of storage to impress McCartney (the inadvertent Ringo to her Marge), who was no doubt touched by her extremely literal, insectoid rendering of The Beatles. "And those jars," McCartney remarked. "Are those a reference to..." "...The failings of liberal groupthink, yes," Hasselbeck answered. "Also, we has just learned to paint jars in my Oils and Acrylics elective."

• The View [ABC]

It all began when Barbara Walters brought up Bush's final press conference and dubbed it unusually introspective. This didn't sit quite right with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, the Bush BFF who invaded the Oval Office over the weekend, had a 15-minute conversation with the president about dog biscuits, and now feels qualified to pronounce Bush her replacement husband should Tim's remote ever linger too long on MSNBC.

Predictably, Joy Behar threw herself into the mix, and the resulting melee was a shouty clusterfuck that recalls the ladies' good ol' days. We led with the clip in which Hasselbeck compares Bush to Abraham Lincoln (!), but so much went on that we've provided a second, even more high-volume sampling. Enjoy!

• The View [ABC]

Relax: Hasselbeck still doesn't have the football or the nuclear codes. We think. Still, the White House visit (as recounted on today's episode of The View) was a worrisome reward for the conservative cohost; we can sympathize with Joy Behar, who gnawed on her inner cheek throughout Hasselbeck's story, then spat blood into her coffee mug during the commercial break. At least Hasselbeck's baby son seized the opportunity to attempt a headbutt that would knock the president out of commission. He is a secret liberal and will be thrown into Gitmo immediately.

As for this, we're pretending it never happened. For your health.

• The View [ABC]

We've spilled a lot of e-ink about how Walters has spent every single day in '09 coming up with new, increasingly overt ways to insult her cohosts, so imagine our delight when she said that her perennial New Year's resolution was to "be nicer" ("THAT'S your New Year's resolution?" said a dubious Sherri Shepherd). Walters then attempted to become visibly kinder on air, which in her mind meant contorting her face into a terrible, clown-like rictus and slamming her cohosts with even greater condescension and frequency (but while smiling!). The display is not for the faint of heart; please, we beg of you, do not watch this clip before bedtime.

• The View [ABC]

On Monday, a jealous Walters promptly chastised the studio audience for shouting compliments to Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, scolding, "When you see a group of people, you don't look at one of them and say, 'We love you.'" Then, as Sherri Shepherd related her brief encounters with Jeremy Piven, Walters expressed both total, unvarnished boredom and condescension on the matter of time zones (though the latter was admittedly well-earned).

On today's show, Walters was in danger of heading into the first commercial break with nary a slam to her credit, but she finally found an unlikely opportunity after her cohosts indulged in a "taint"-filled discussion of Rod Blagojevich and the Senate seat to which he appointed Roland Burris. This prompted Walters to attempt a tortured analogy that essentially called Elisabeth Hasselbeck a bonehead (but not because she loves The Bachelor?). Whatever, it's Barbara logic—just enjoy how Elisabeth hears her name and starts to perk up approvingly before Babs sticks the shiv in.

• The View [ABC]

· The Man, The Myth: We first introduced Barack Obama to Defamer readers way back on June 1, 2006, when the Senator was reported to have ordered leg of toddler with a fetal-marrow salad while lunching at CAA. Were we ever glad to hear it wasn't Obama, but just a look-alike CAA agent snickering between chews about the audacity of hope. Sorry, Mr. President-elect!

· A View to a Kill: While Obama and Hillary Clinton battled for Democratic delegates, another, bloodier fight took shape at ABC: Elisabeth Hasselbeck upgraded her contrarian sass as a full-blown GOP mouthpiece, fluffing Cindy McCain at Michelle Obama's expense and exploding one co-host's head after another with John McCain superlatives until Joy Behar brought in the bomb squad. If only the debates traded just a little of their sexual tension for a fraction of The View's energy, drama and mutual loathing.

· Sarah Palin Superstar: Tina Fey comparisons flooded the Web about five seconds after Sarah Palin's selection as the Republican vice-presidential candidate. Then they flooded TV; even Brooke Hogan and Russell Brand couldn't flee the tide. Yet despite her talent in the swimsuit and flute portions of the election, Palin faded into the Alaskan dusk following her loss faster than lusty Margaret Cho could rush-order a copy of Nailin' Palin.

· The Letterman Factor: For all the purported impact Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert had on the electorate in 2008, neither man wielded the radioactive fury of a David Letterman scorned. On Sept. 24, after a regretful McCain canceled his guest appearance en route to Washington (where he would stay to "fix the economy"), Letterman piped in video of the candidate in a neighboring studio, preparing for a sitdown with Katie Couric. The ensuing bloodbath underscored the McCain campaign's devastating tone-deafness to pop culture — a terminal illness, it turned out, by the time McCain was finally euthanized on Saturday Night Live.

· America Crossed the Aisle: Sort of. Republican Dennis Hopper eloquently came around for Obama, while Jackie Mason encouraged Florida's elderly Jewish population to make up their own minds lest Sarah Silverman brainwash them. And the Bipartisan Youth Choir of Atlanta reminded voters in the catchiest, most epic manner possible that they could indeed pull their levers any which way they pleased:

· ZOMG ELECTION DAYYYY: And we dabbed a tear at democracy's triumph as assayed by Kirsten Dunst, Monica Lewinsky, Diddy, Pete Wentz and Tim Robbins — once they finally let him into the polling place.

· New Day, New Hangover: Obama delivered his victory address in front of tens of thousands at Chicago's Grant Park. (Among them: Oprah Winfrey and her snot-absorbent oratory-crutch.) Meanwhile, Hasselbeck waited until the next day to give her own concession speech, which was too little too late for those American minds already blown by CNN's election-night hologram adventure. Congratulations to Obama and the American political system as a whole — with an Emanuel in the White House at last, we can finally embark on the long, slow, and ultimately healing recovery we need. Jan. 20, 2009, can't come soon enough.

As our year begins to come to an end, intern Brian Colgan reviewed Elisabeth Hasselbeck's on-screen political arc (in short: "Wright Wright Rezko Rezko Ayers Ayers VICTORY!") and composed a video so incredible, you could watch it with your hand covering the top half of the screen and still get the gist from Elisabeth's emphatic, repeated gesticulation. We made it through this together, America. Like that one kid in Into the Wild, we have endured this tough, immense experience and come out the other end stronger.

Oh, wait. Didn't that kid die?

• The View [ABC]

However, the choice has angered many gay rights advocates, who worry that the selection will legitimize Warren's fervent advocacy in favor of Proposition 8. Joy Behar, too, is upset about the pick ("It's like putting Cheney in charge of gun control!"), which surely makes Elisabeth's toes even tinglier. And, as always, Barbara Walters attempts to bring peace by reaching for a historical anecdote she only half-remembers while her cohosts silently count down their "five second rule," at the conclusion of which they are free to merrily ignore her and resume their crosstalk. Still, the clip's real horror show is Whoopi's Ed Hardy-like tee-shirt, which suggests a wrathful View stylist has found a new target. Clip above.

• The View [ABC]

Earlier: Obama Asks, We Answer: The 5 Stupidest Things Elisabeth Hasselbeck Has Ever Said

Suffice it to say, then, with Hitler season upon us, everyone's favorite embodiment of pure evil is on our minds—the ladies of The View being no exception. Today's Hot Topic covered the Adolf Hitler-baby-naming fad currently sweeping the nation, as evidenced by one Pennsylvania father who decided to do just that. (We're not sure which of the two moms in the family photograph is the dad.)

Surprisingly well-versed in the case is Sherri Shepherd, who filled the rest of the panel in on the family's swastika-laden birthday-cake-ordering troubles. But it fell to Elisabeth Hasselbeck to effectively bore to the crux of this issue—advocating not, as one might suspect, on behalf of free-speech for those who fall on the far right extreme of the political spectrum; rather, she squeaks up for the voiceless little children, who have no say whatsoever over which psychotic despot's name they and siblings Pol Pot and Benito Mussolini will be forced to carry throughout their lives. [The View]

It came when The View hosted the gay-married Melissa Etheridge, who used the talk show patter before her performance to criticize Elisabeth's frequent, erroneous statements about Proposition 8. Though well-intended, we wish Etheridge had reminded Elisabeth that the "activist judges" she so derides also enacted unpopular-yet-pivotal civil rights decisions like Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia. Also, that Swedish priest she mentions? Didn't actually go to jail! Sherri Shepherd stepped in to break things up, but eventually Etheridge performed "Blue Christmas," which prompted Elizabeth to announce that she's glad Melissa is going to have a blue Christmas. We'll bet.

• The View [ABC]

Truth be told, we can relate — aside from GlitterGlassesGuruGate, Elisabeth hasn't done anything particularly interesting this month on The View (though a shiver did go through our bodies the other day when she randomly brought up a conversation with her "good friend Gary Sinise"). On today's show, the archconservative revealed just how things have fallen: Bush has revoked her annual invitation to the White House! On a positive note, Elisabeth still has an open-ended invitation to visit Sarah Palin at her Alaska igloo, which she has decorated with bloody turkey feathers and a mug she swiped from the set of Saturday Night Live. Her one-way ticket is paid for by Joy Behar.

• The View [ABC]

Rickles started strong by immediately slamming Elisabeth Hasselbeck's husband — a strong, unexpected choice! From there, he brushed off Jay Leno's primetime coup ("I don't really care"), dismissed Joy Behar's inattention, and then brought up one of The View's twin They Who Must Not Be Named: Star Jones. An aggrieved Barbara Walters attempted to walk back the Star taunt; insult whomever you want, Mr. Warmth, but the Star Jones criticism is reserved only for Ms. No Hugs.

• The View [ABC]