Via Variety, something fun for the old-school HA readers on a slow news day. I knew one day a clip would emerge from The View’s golden era capturing Hasselbeck ready to burn the place down in righteous frustration.

What I didn’t know is that it’d be Barbara Walters, not Rosie O’Donnell, who drove her to that state.

The mind reels at how many tapes might exist of the various drama queens who’ve inhabited the show’s panel over the years ranting backstage about their disgust at their colleagues. Recordings of Meghan McCain fuming about Joy Behar and Behar fuming about McCain surely run for hours. The hosts’ simmering disdain for each other is and always has been the show’s most compelling attraction. Why the producers don’t just bow to that reality already and start monetizing it, I don’t know. I hardly ever watch the show but I’d happily pay a monthly fee to be able to watch Meg and Joy throw things at each other during commercial breaks.

Has there ever been a happy conservative panelist on this program, by the way? Hasselbeck quit, McCain frequently looks miserable. Imagine sitting in a room every day and representing the official wrongthink position to a group of people whom you know disagree with you. No wonder Elisabeth snapped.