Sarah If You Had A Grave You Would Be Rolling In It! *Wink*

Can't you just see Sarah kicking the dog right now, throwing her shoe across the room, slapping Todd a few times, stomping her feet on the floor while she races to her blackberry to twitter and FB about "stars" that know nothing about politics, just like the lamestream media?~Mem

Hasselbeck supports gay marriage, calls Obama a ‘cool guy’
By Holly Bailey
Aug. 24, 2010

As a co-host of ABC's daytime chatfest "The View," Elisabeth Hasselbeck has long been known as the conservative firebrand of the show, willing to butt heads with her fellow co-hosts on issues including taxes and abortion. But Hasselbeck, who campaigned with Sarah Palin in '08, insists that she's been misunderstood, saying in a recent interview that she regards President Barack Obama as an "incredibly cool guy" and parts company with conservative culture warriors on the charged issues of gay marriage and abortion rights. On the latter front, she says she's "torn"; she offers fairly unequivocal support on the controversial question of same-sex unions.

In an interview with Fancast's Adam Buckman, Hasselbeck insists she's not "ultra-ultra-conservative on every issue." "I actually support gay marriage," she says, an admission that puts her to the left of Obama.

As for abortion, Hasselbeck confirms she believes that life begins at conception but also says she doesn't think the government should tell women what to do with their bodies. "I'm torn there in terms of supporting laws" for or against abortion, she says. "I always say I would rather a change in heart than a law."

Hasselbeck considers herself more of a "federalist" — someone who believes the federal government should leave decisions up to the states — than a "conservative." "Always trying to mandate, mandate, mandate this or that is not the way that I believe the country should be run," she says.

All of this might be news to Hasselbeck's "View" co-hosts, who have sparred with her several times over the years over hot-button social issues.

[Photos: Elisabeth Hasselbeck through the years]

In 2006, she got into a heated argument with her "View" colleagues over her opposition to the Food and Drug Administration's plan to offer the "morning-after pill" over the counter. Using it, she said, was the same thing as "birthing a baby and leaving it out on the street." When her position was called "extreme," Hasselbeck burst into tears, after which co-host Barbara Walters comforted her.

A year later, Hasselbeck got into the first of several fights with then-co-host Rosie O'Donnell, this time over the war in Iraq. O'Donnell, who opposed the war, complained about the huge civilian losses: "655,000 Iraqi civilians dead. Who are the terrorists?" O'Donnell asked. When conservatives criticized her for the question, O'Donnell trashed Hasselbeck for not coming to her defense.

Hasselbeck hasn't gotten along any better with Whoopi Goldberg, who replaced O'Donnell on the show. The two have fought repeatedly over abortion, and in 2008, Hasselbeck burst into tears again on the air, this time after arguing with Goldberg about whether it's appropriate for blacks to use the N-word.

[Photos: President Obama on "The View" with Hasselbeck, Goldberg and other hosts]

Last month, Obama appeared on "The View," during which Hasselbeck challenged the president on why his economic stimulus plan hadn't created more jobs:

Asked in the second part of Fancast's interview about that moment, Hasselbeck recalled "the intensity in his eyes." "He wasn't just answering me, he was sending through me a message to the American people that felt special," she says, admitting she was so nervous beforehand that she went and got a mani-pedi to prepare.

(Photo of Hasselbeck and Palin by Matt Stroshane/Getty Images)