The View Takes on Malibu Fires, the War on Iraq, Children and War, and Movie Theaters

Today, Wednesday the 10^th of January, The View welcomed back Barbara Walters. She joined the three other regular co-hosts Joy Behar, Rosie O'Donnell, and Elisabeth Hasselback.

The show began with the following statements regarding Donald Trump (in summary):

O'Donnell: "He's at it again."

Walters: "That poor, pathetic man."

Walters: "He just can't let go."

O'Donnell: "The man is obsessed with me."

Trump's latest season of The Apprentice aired this past week with disappointing popularity, to which O'Donnell referenced as having tanked. The statements made above are already, less than half an hour after the closing of today's show, making headway in entertainment news.

The company immediately moved on from this issue, turning to the destructive fires in Malibu, California as of late.

Malibu Fires

Thought to be a result of global warming, many houses in California have recently been burning to the ground. Suzanne Somers, upon viewing her own demolished house, states, "What can you do with a tragedy except look for opportunity to grow spiritually and emotionally?"

Behar responds to the issue of global warming by questioning, "Maybe Al Gore was right." She continues to conclude that should he run for president again, he could win (even though, as she states, he already did).

War on Iraq

Later today, President Bush will be giving a press conference to speak about the deployment of 20,000 more soldiers to Iraq. Hasselback states that she would support this decision "contingent upon the fact that they are gone soon after."

O'Donnell shares information that the number of surviving soldiers is higher in this war than any other due to advancement in modern medicine, but there are too many amputees returning than there is room to treat for them. Behar adds, "And they're kids."

Children and War

Walters questions O'Donnell, "How do you explain war to your children?"

O'Donnell relates the questions back to her own memories of the Vietnam War and emphasizes the importance of understanding that war is a reality. She "remembers [the war] viscerally," specifically the events transpiring around the last plane to leave Saigon in which an older woman was pushed off of a ladder and fell off screen. On speaking with her children, she tells them, "We're hoping that the grown-ups who disagree will start talking louder."

It is widely accepted that O'Donnell does not agree with the politics of this current war, and to uphold this, she believes that the government "only should put [the soldiers] in harm's way when we have no other options." As we voluntarily entered this war in direct confliction with the United Nations, O'Donnell believes that sending troops to Iraq was not our only surviving option.

Behar worries that more troops will be sent, but the Democrats may, in an attempt to publicly oppose the war, discontinue monetary support, which would only further hurt the troops who are currently, or may soon be, in Iraq.

O'Donnell and Hasselback, who hold differing opinions of the Patriot Act, each briefly state their stance before a commercial, but upon return the subject is not revisited.

Public Theaters vs. Home Theaters

Walters weighs the decision to view movies at public theaters over watching DVD's at home. O'Donnell answers that her family attends movie theaters on the occasion that it may be a rainy day.

Because of recent technological advancements, many families are choosing the option to view movies in the comfort of their own home, rather than spending the pricy fee for theater tickets. It seems as though the only benefit to public theaters is the sheer social aspect, but with the availability of widescreen hi-definition technology to the lay viewer, films have the ability to become social events while still remaining in the comfort of one's own home through the staging of a film party or similar event.

LATER TODAY: President Bush is set to announce his new play for Iraq in a speech scheduled for 9:00 p.m. EST.