Why you gotta be so mean?
First of all, Dick Clark is a legend. He can do what he wants. He chooses to do this every year. It's the one and only public appearance he makes. For his fans, it's the one thing they can count on.
Regarding his speech, it's not going to get better. Have you seen Kirk Douglas lately? He had his stroke a long time ago and he still slurs his speech. It doesn't get much better. Dick has gotten better every year, and it gives him a goal to shoot for. Very important for recovering stroke victims.
As for Ryan Seacrest, he does this show because he loves Dick. I really believe that. He could easily host a competing show on Fox. This year, Fox did a terribly produced NYE show from Las Vegas with a cut-in from Times Square that, for some unknown reason, kept showing Cee Lo Green, who was actually part of NBC's NYE show.
While I'm on the subject, why did ABC continue to interview fans who were anxious to see Drake, who was on the NBC show? Here's some advice to dcp's production crew: Pre-interview the fans. If they're going to promote your competition, move to another section of the Square. There were a million people there. That's my one pet peave about DCRNYE.