Journalist Helen Thomas condemns Bush administration

[Kire]

Journalist Helen Thomas condemns Bush administration

Sarah H. Wright, News Office
November 6, 2002

Veteran journalist Helen Thomas brought the grit and whir of a White House press conference to Bartos Theater on Monday evening, speaking with passion about the media's role in a democracy whose leaders seem eager for war.

Actually, the 82-year-old former United Press International reporter didn't just speak: she surged into her topic, giving everyone present an immediate sense of the grumpy wit and fierce precision that gave her reporting on American presidents Kennedy through Bush II such a competitive and lasting edge.

"I censored myself for 50 years when I was a reporter," said Thomas, who is now a columnist for Hearst News Service. "Now I wake up and ask myself, 'Who do I hate today?'" Her short list of answers seems not to vary from war, President Bush, timid office-holders, a muffled press and cowed citizens, pretty much in that order.

Angered by what she views as the Bush administration's "bullying drumbeat," Thomas referred early and often to her own hatred of war, quoting from poets and politicians to bear down on President Bush and his colleagues.

More: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2002/thomas-1106.html

[ChowChowChow]

1. Right on Helen.

[Ilsa]

2. SHe's one of my favorite people in the world!

I hope no one takes that "Who do I hate today" scenario too seriously. I wouldn't want her to be remembered that way, the way Nixon described Barbara Bush ("There's a woman who knows how to hate," or words to that effect).

[OneBlueSky]

3. Helen is a national treasure . . .

and one of the few real journalists left . . . she also generally answers here e-mails personally . . . I've written to her several times, and always received a brief response that spoke directly to what I'd said . . .

I'm convinced that if this planet is going to be saved, it will be because of women taking the initiative . . . women like Helen Thomas, Cindy Sheehan, and all the wonderful folks making Camp Casey work . . .

[pacalo]

4. Go, Helen!

Asked to advise young journalists, Thomas pounced. "Remind the politicians you interview that you pay them, that they are public servants. Remember every question is legitimate. And don't give up. There's always a leak. There's always someone who's trying to save the country," she said.