Guys, I’m sure that ABC thinks getting Rosie O’Donnell is a huge coup. Much like CBS snapping up Katie Couric, the suits think that a proven female ratings-grabber is smart for their show. But it should also be noted that ABC’s had an almost-religious devotion to Rosie for some time. In 2002, ABC News had a whole two-hour special plugging Rosie’s fight for gay adoption in Florida, with only a few feints toward a balance with social conservatives.

It remains to be seen whether the “new” lesbian lefty Rosie O’Donnell (more like Margaret Cho, less like Oprah) is going to still draw in the ratings. But I think it’s highly possible that she’ll make Meredith Vieira look like E.D. Hill with all the hot Air America rhetoric she’ll be spewing. See a sample of Rosie’s loony moments (including fussing that Bush is a war criminal at Sean Hannity on “”The View”) here.