Free Republic

This is next-level fierce: Dancing With the Stars has tapped Tyra Banks to replace Tom Bergeron as host. The announcement comes roughly 36 hours after ABC confirmed the departures of the ABC dance competition’s longtime host Bergeron as well as co-host Erin Andrews. Banks’ reign will begin with Season 29, slated to bow this fall (view ABC’s complete fall lineup here). In a statement, the erstwhile America’s Top Model host said, “I’ve been a fan of DWTS since its beginning. The fun mixed with raw emotion, seeing celebrities push past their comfort zones, the sizzling dance performances. It’s always transported...

Bristol Palin is no Ginger Rogers. She’s not even Britney Spears. Bristol made it to the final three of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” because the viewers are fans of her mother, Sarah Palin. So what? Sarah Palin is enormously popular with main street Americans. Recent polls show that Palin is the leading Republican presidential candidate for 2012. Palin is treated like a rock star at public appearances. Her TLC reality travel show, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska”, premiered last week as the sixth highest-rated show on cable. (The ratings fell by the second show, but held at three million viewers, which...