Ask Bay Area drivers: Fire can melt steel. Also happened in Houston yesterday. Will Big Ro blame Bushco for that one, too?

Chuck Simmins needles the Truthers some more.

Unfortunately, conspiracy-mongering pays:

On “The View,” Rosie’s unpredictable nature kicked the show’s ratings up about 18 percent since last year and moved it to fifth place among daytime talk shows, from its longtime 10th place perch.

The jump translated into about a 15 percent ad-rate increase - a shift that contributed millions to the show’s bottom line, says an ABC staffer.

“That’s big,” said Mediaweek’s Marc Berman. “Especially when you consider that nine out of 10 daytime shows are down in the ratings.”

All of that came because of, or despite, Rosie’s various feuds, ranging from public spats with Donald Trump and Asian-American organizations to conspiracy-theory talk about 9/11.

“I would say that Rosie clearly helped electrify ‘The View’ and has positioned herself nicely to enter into discussions with several syndicators,” said John Rash of media-buying firm Campbell Mithun.

Wherever she lands, and some industry experts believe a new show could debut as soon as 2009, O’Donnell has a proven Midas touch with TV.

“The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” a feel-good, entertainment-oriented talker, generated hundreds of millions for producer Warner Bros. during its six seasons, which concluded in 2002.

O’Donnell walked away with a cool $40 million by the end of her Warner Bros. deal.

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