Will Rosie vacation day turn into forever?

Rumors have been swirling since the first moments of this morning’s broadcast of Barbara Walters’ chat fest.

After yesterday’s widely discussed clash of the morning political titans between Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Rosie O’Donnell, even though she has already announced her June departure, the ‘is Rosie staying or leaving?’ talk intensified. The two hosts fighting over the issues, in particular the war in Iraq, is nothing new. What was markedly different in the May 23 exchange was the level of fierce anger displayed by both parties. The heat went way into the red. When the show hit airwaves this morning, O’Donnell was noticably absent. Given the excitement she has for “Dancing with the Stars” it came as a surprise. She was effervescent while introducing and interviewing Laila Ali and Joey Fatone with their partners, ironically with Hasselbeck, and seemed beyond thrilled that the show’s champ, Apolo Anton Ohno, would be visiting the set today. The official reason for her absence from O’Donnell’s camp is she took the day off to celebrate her partner Kelli’s big 40th birthday. Ever present on the web, the television star let her fans know her feelings about returning to work Friday morning on her blog after spending the day with family: “No idea.”