Elisabeth Hasselbeck returns to ‘The View’: Can the OG conservative save the show?

nypost.com:

“pray for me” as she steps back into the embattled liberal lion’s den. Hasselbeck was “The View’s” OG conservative co-host during her 10-year tenure on the program, clashing with her co-stars and transforming the daytime show into a pop culture juggernaut.

And while her return is currently being billed as “temporary,” fans are already calling for the Nashville-based blonde to be permanently reinstalled in the conservative seat that she singlehandedly created.

It’s no secret that “The View” producers have been struggling to find the right Republican to fill said seat after it was vacated by self-proclaimed “mountain mama” Meghan McCain last year.

Ratings have been sagging without a right-leaning co-host, compounded by embarrassing missteps from Goldberg and Behar — and Hasselbeck could help bring back eyeballs.‘Hasselbeck walked so Candace Cameron Buré could run so Alyssa Farrah Griffin could fly.’ABC will officially name the new conservative co-host on Thursday, one day after Hasselbeck’s return — and her team is only fueling rumors that she could be a contender. “This is the same woman who threw herself into the middle of the Australian Outback [on “Survivor”], survived 10 years at “The View,” and then joined the Fox News Team,” Hasselbeck’s rep told The Post. “I would say nothing is off the table when it comes to her taking on new adventures.”Meanwhile, an ABC spokesperson refused to be drawn on whether execs are looking to bring back the blonde on a full-time basis.