Distorted opinion the rooster has of life? (8,4)

I believe the answer is:

cockeyed view

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'rooster has of life?' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether this works.

'distorted opinion' is the wordplay.
'distorted' becomes 'cockeyed' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'opinion' becomes 'view' (synonyms).
'cockeyed'+'view'='COCKEYED VIEW'

'the' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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