The Barbara Walters referenced in the headline is in fact the Barbara Walters who hosts a television show called “The View” and is one of America’s most respected journalists.

Barbara made waves last week when on live television she admitted that she shoplifted. As reported in mediaite.com, her co-hosts accused her of stealing paper napkins from the White House to which Ms. Walters claimed was okay and not stealing. What do you think?

While I am sure White House officials would not prosecute the 58-year-old journalist for stealing paper napkins, it is still theft! This is no different than stealing office supplies from the office or towels from a hotel.

The View hosts got a bit heated while discussing the case of a 58-year-old woman who was fired from her job after her employer discovered that she had been arrested for shoplifting and failed to disclose the arrest on her job application (by Wells Fargo bank-we blogged about this last week). The fly in the ointment is that the arrest occurred forty years ago, when she was a teenager. Should an old record matter so much?

Barbara’s Shoplifting Past

Barbara admitted that she shoplifted, but got very coy about what she stole and when it happened. She claimed it happened when she was about seven years old. When pestered by her co-hosts to admit what she shoplifted she joked that she had stolen a sable coat, three diamond bracelets and maybe a pencil with an eraser.

Perhaps she should take a shoplifting class. I got the feeling there were other theft-like issues. First it is pencils with erasers, then napkins at the White House. What’s next Barbara?