“I’ve never actually declared myself a conservative”

Parker, however, tells me that she is unfazed by the tepid beginning. “I’ve been amused by all of these critiques,” she chuckles. “I haven’t read the reviews, but every now and then I get a note from somebody saying, ‘Keep your chin up.’ And I think, why? Is there a problem?”

Parker swats away the idea that her show cannot compete with the big dogs of cable news: “I haven’t yet seen anybody ask, well, how did O’Reilly do on his sixth day? How did Olbermann do on his sixth day? Wouldn’t we call that journalism? I don’t think anybody comes out of the gate with millions of viewers.”