Helen Thomas Quits (UPDATE: She's Back!)

Re: Helen Thomas Quits

Her brain doesn't filter like a 40-year-olds? So that excuses her from making hateful comments? It is like once when someone apologized for making a joke involving Jews in front of me, then after realizing I was Jewish apologized. I said, are you sorry for making that kind of joke or just sorry you said it in front of me? Worse yet, it came from a so-called respected journalist who (from reading an AP story of this whole thing) apparently had the Middle East on her mind a lot during White House press briefings. Sorry, no pass here.

 

Re: Helen Thomas Quits

Agree that if Thomas was viewed as some yahoo with a radio/cable news show her comments would be gobbled up and digested in a news cycle. Someone as respected as she is, is held to a higher standard.
If she wanted to be a blowhard, she should have taken a seat back next to Les Kinsolving.

 

Re: Helen Thomas Quits

I don't think her being 89-years-old is why she said it.

I think she said it because it's what she believes. And I believe it's clearly anti-Semitic.

I juts don't think it's all that surprising that she thinks that way based on who she is and how she was probably raised.

And I don't believe that someone with those beliefs should be employed by a respected news organization or be a member in good standing of the White House press corp.

 

Re: Helen Thomas Quits

Glenn Beck is currently promoting a decades-old book by a Nazi sympathizer - someone who reportedly referred to President Eisenhower as "Ike the Kike."

Is Glenn Beck an anti-Semite?

If we're going to start purging everyone from journalism who has ever associated themselves with anti-Semitic comments, he should be next. Especially since he's employed by a respected news organization and all.

Once this train starts rolling, it's going to be hard to stop. Political correctness sucks - no matter which side is applying it.

 

Re: Helen Thomas Quits

I worked for Ellen Ratner in college. She is a fucking lunatic.

 

Re: Helen Thomas Quits

Possibly. But he's definitely a fucking lunatic.

 

Re: Helen Thomas Quits

Glenn Beck does not have the pole position in The White House Room. In many cases you can dismiss the comments of an 89 year old on basis senility setting in. Not the case with Thomas who has just written a book-- Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do. Hopefully she is not advising Obama on Israel . I'm sure Scribner does not think she is senile based on her book description:


"Helen Thomas has covered the administrations of ten presidents in a career spanning nearly sixty years. She is known for her famous press conference closing line, "Thank you, Mr. President," but here she trades deference for directness. Thomas and veteran journalist Craig Crawford hold nothing back as they use former occupants of the White House to provide a witty, history-rich lesson plan of what it takes to be a good president.

Combining sharp observation and dozens of examples from the fi rst presidency through the forty-fourth, the authors outline the qualities, attitudes, and political and personal choices that make for the most successful leaders, and the least. Calvin Coolidge, who hired the fi rst professional speechwriter in the White House, illuminates the importance of choosing words wisely. William Howard Taft, notorious for being so fat he broke his White House bathtub, shows how not to cultivate a strong public image. John F. Kennedy, who could handle the press corps and their questions with aplomb, shows how to establish a rapport with the press and open oneself up to the public. Ronald Reagan, who acknowledged the Iran-Contra affair in a television address, demonstrates how telling hard truths can earn forgiveness and even public trust.

By gleaning lessons from past leaders, Thomas and Crawford not only highlight those that future presidents should follow but also pinpoint what Americans should look for and expect in their president. Part history lesson, part presidential primer, Listen Up, Mr. President is smart, entertaining, and exceedingly edifying. "

 

Re: Helen Thomas Quits

Thanks for posting that, Boom.

That's the kind of thing she'll be remembered for.

 

Re: Helen Thomas Quits

Now negated.

 

Re: Helen Thomas Quits

Keep wishing. Maybe you'll get a pony for Christmas, too.

Most of the people offended by what she said already didn't like her. Her peers threw her under the bus, because they had to. They'll curse her in public, but when all is said and done, she's still a journalism pioneer. Clinton got a blow job, and he'll go down in history as one of the most popular presidents ever. History has a way of sanding off the rough edges sometimes. By the time she passes on, this will be 3rd or 4th graf in her obit. That'll disappoint you and some other folks around here, I suppose. But life goes on.

 

Re: Helen Thomas Quits

I think so.

 

Re: Helen Thomas Quits

That's of the biggest problems with journalism - far too many people are far too reverent of far too many people.