Helen Thomas

Known as the First Lady of the Press, Former White House Bureau Chief, Helen Thomas is a journalism pioneer paving the way for woman reporters. She has covered every president since John F. Kennedy for fifty seven years Ms. Thomas also served as White House Correspondent for the United Press International. Recently leaving this post Ms. Thomas has joined Hearst Newspaper as a syndicated columnist. Born in Winchester, Kentucky and raised in Detroit, Michigan, she graduated from Wayne State University. Upon leaving college, Ms. Thomas served as a copy girl on the old, now defunct, copy boy, there we go, I have been adjusted, now the defunct daily Washington news. In 1943 Ms. Thomas joined United Press International and the Washington Press Corp. For twelve years, Ms. Thomas wrote radio news for UPI, her work day beginning at 5:30. Eventually she covered the news of the Federal Government including the FBI and Capitol Hill. In November 1960, Ms. Thomas began covering the President elect John F. Kennedy, following him to the White House in January 1961 as a member of the UPI team. IT was during this first White House assignment that Thomas, Ms. Thomas began closing presidential press conferences with "Thank you Mr. President". In September 1971, Pat Nixon scooped Helen Thomas by announcing her engagement to Associated Press retiring White House correspondent Douglas B. Cornell at Nothing sacred a White House, White House party hosted by then President Nixon in honor of Cornell. Ms. Thomas was the only woman print journalist traveling with President Nixon to China during his break through trip in January 1972. She traveled around the world several times with presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton. Ms. Thomas has been named as one of the twenty five most influential women in America by the World Almanac. Some of you may even have seen Ms. Thomas' appearance in Steven Colbert's humorous video short which aired at this years' White House Correspondent's Dinner. My only claim to fame. Ms. Thomas has written four books including "Thank For the Memories, Mr. President" and "Wisdom from the Front Row at the White House", "My Life and Times", "Front Row at the White House: My Life and Times" and her recent new publication, "Watch Dogs of Democracy" which examines how journalism and media have failed the American public through time and change. Please join me in welcoming Ms. Helen Thomas. Well you don't know how many times I've wanted to say no thank you Mr. President. But as much as I love the, my profession, I must say that my book is about how the press really let the country down. In the run up to the war they didn't ask the questions, they gave up their only weapon, which is skepticism so I'm afraid, I seem to have tired with the same brush all the White House reporters and Pentagon reporters. I don't mean for that to be, but I really am disappointed and I think that we are the last strong hold that can really ask a president a question. I mean the Presidential news conference is the only institution in our society where a president can be questioned on a regular basis and held accountable. We don't have the British system where the Prime Minister goes before the House of Commons and really peppered with questions, so I really think that when we default, we have let the country down and its very disappointing, we're three years into a war where the President cannot give you a valid reason. I mean if he's got a reason, every reason they've given, no weapons of mass destruction, no ties to al-Qaeda terrorists, no threats to a third world country to the military, world's only military super power, so with all of this, these falsehoods, I think that the country should be up in arms really, or at least hitting the streets and being very unhappy with what has happened, but instead I can't believe the passivity, the lack of outrage, how mute we all are, the silence, the sin of a silence really at a time when we should be questioning why are people dying, why are we killing, why are we being killed? And with that kind of intro, I think I should open for questions, so... If I can borrow one of your line, Ms. Thomas, I have a question and then I have a follow up. I deserve that My first question is, um, what role do you think that the soldiers, I mean, excuse me journalist embedding in the Iraq war has played in um, maybe the lack of skepticism about this war? What role do you think that journalist have played being embedded in Iraq, have down played? No, in being embedded, has damaged or hurt or maybe covered over their ability to be skeptical. I don't think there's any doubt that you would be co opted if your embedded and your watching the soldiers, you become very palsy with them and so forth. I don't think, that certainly didn't happen in Vietnam reporters. I mean it was a different kind of war, of course and they could jump on the helicopters, go to the front, see for themselves. When your with a military, you play ball, I think. I, I, what really disarmed me is, when we knew for two years in this run up to the war that we were going to war, that this administration could not be deterred, nothing could change the fact that they were gonna fix the facts around the policy. Reporters knew that and they were very enthusiastic. They were young and I admit, I've lived a long time and I, I've on the sidelines seen a lot of wars and war is hell and why they were so enthusiastic, I mean they were very gung-ho and they thought, you know this was an easy thing to do, for three years into this war and I would think that those who were so enthusiastic to go and didn't ask why should be questioned and chastened, So I do think when you're embedded you do have much more loyalty to the troops and you're less apt to do an objective. How can you be objective, and more I'll grant you, but to see the things. This war isn't being covered because everybody's afraid. I don't blame them, you walk beyond the green zone, you're stuck and you're very vulnerable. I've been very concerned since you've been writing your column for the Hearst syndicate and asking the difficult questions about this war that the administration and conservative writers have been, what I would call (unidentified), um and as though, you know, as a way to dismiss you and was very upset today to read the remarks that Scott Cain, one of the Representatives from Iowa said about you, have you noticed this? What did he say? I almost hate to say it out loud, he said that he doubts that (unidentified) will find seventy two virgins in the hell he's going to and if he finds them, they'll all look like Helen Thomas. All I can say is how bereft. How sad, you know, its true, fifty seven years I wrote just the facts ma'am. If you said your mother loved you , I had to check it out, but now I write a column and I write my own opinion and very clearly labeled that I am writing my opinion but I think my opinion is valid after so long of institutional knowledge about the White House. I simply wanted America to do the right thing, to get its honor back, I think it lost a lot of ground. The President is about o embark on a trip to Europe tomorrow, gonna meet with the European Union in Vienna and Budapest and the European Press wonders what happened to America, what happened to our credibility, we have here so down in the tank, I mean in term of world esteem, respect and that's what I think we have to come back to what we once were. We were represented the best in the world. People aspired to us not because we gave them something, but simply because what we did represented and now I think people are so disappointed in what we are so I don't think we should let that prevail, that opinion. Yes, a question over here please. Good evening Ms. Thomas. Would you agree with the assessment that this administration is the least transparent administration in modern times and if so why? I think its, it is the most secretive administration I've ever covered. I really thought that in terms of news that the Reagan administration was state of the art, but these people have beaten. You know, they may have changed the Press Secretary but its the same 'ole, same 'ole, they really, really tell you nothing. The new Press Secretary Tony Snow is much more agile on his feet, articulate, but he's still is the advocate per se and what he advocates is unacceptable in my opinion. I mean he's slicker, he's smoother, but its still, the message is the same its like its none of your business. They're doing the people's business and they don't think you have the right to know whatever they're doing until they're ready to pull out their thumb and pull out a plum if they can. I mean to not be able to explain why are we in this war when every reason given has been repudiated, who are we? You're question please? I'm a journalist also, I always thought that it was more of those who own the press, like (unidentified), rather than the reporters because you get hired if you're going to do the line of the newspaper, I don't think you have that much freedom. Um, so why have, the Downing Street memo well you had the freedom to write the facts for the front page. The Downing Street Memos, the Times didn't get around to publishing anything about that for a year, it was out there. You're singing my song. So why is it, so then, but you would know better than I, why is it that the ownership, why is it the Post and the Times, the LA Times and all, why are they not printing what needs to be printed, why do they take the administration with some, now and then there's a piece that get some information out, but most of the time not, and they didn't on Vietnam until well into the war, it didn't, they weren't writing... till about ten and Nicaragua, I mean all of... Grenada, except for the fact that they, great moments, Grenada, that they were cut out of that war, but they always supported the wars, why? In the beginning, uh reporters publishers and so forth, become pluralist, they feel that they have to be patriotic and that's certainly after 9/11, reporters were people too and they didn't want to be called unAmerican, unpatriotic and so forth, but as the war went on and so forth, the New York Times, I mean after having front page stories, yes it has weapons of mass destruction and so and so, day after day, Times did a (unidentified), they did two editorials less than a year ago where they admitted they had made many mistakes and they put what should have been an A1 story, skeptical story, skeptical about the weapons on A20 and so forth. Its a placement. The Washington Post has never, never done a maya cope, never said, its supported the war, it still supports the war even though every reason has been questioned and is baseless. Why? You tell me. You tell me. Its very heavily, there, I wish I knew, I mean I'm asking the same question. I did call the Post and asked them, you know how come, after so long, you didn't even though the Downing Street Memo, which said in 2002, July, the Chief of British Intelligence came here and went back and told them they are determined to go to war, they're going to fix the facts around the policy and so forth, I mean why? Well the answer they gave me was, well you know there were, British elections were going on and we were so busy. Yep. Its a, I think that reporters have a duty, a public service, otherwise don't be in this business because you are supposed to be keeping the American people informed of the world. If your managing editor won't let you put the story in then what happens? Well, certianly the Post will support the war. You can point to editorials almost yesterday that say that we are for this war. Why do you tell me? I mean how can we go miles and miles and miles away to kill people in their own country who did nothing to us? They had a horrible leader, yes, I could name you many countries with tyrants. What do you do? Go in and kill the people? This is shameful. Yes, Ms. Thomas, thank you for all your work over the years, but especially now. I'm gonna pay for this. No you're not, you're not. No I don't mean you per se but I mean my bluntness, Oh, oh. Well you spoke about the passivity of the press and the lack of opportunity I was just gonna say that, and the lack of outrage among the press and the people. Um, what are your thoughts about that, why the lack of outrage and what can be done about it? I think the fear card is very effective. I mean in the end we're all Americans, right? And we're not different because we're in the press per se and the same things effect us and I do think, I don't want to be called American and unpatriotic and so they have used that as a club actually. My thoughts about it are that this is a very effective thing. I remember the Martin Luther King March on Washington where he made his immortal speech, I Have a Dream, and everyone remembers that. But I remember even more, a cameo of parents by a rabbi, who had been in a Nazi concentration camp for many years and he got up and he said that the greatest sin of all in the Nazi era was silence and I really think that when we're so passive, they've got a free ride to tell us anything we accept anything because we've all run for cover, there is no draft, so I don't want there to be a draft or anything else, but when every person feels, well not my problem, I'm not affected, well we are affected. Open the Washington Post today you have three pages of dead soldiers and the ages are pretty young, I mean they have a right to live too and when you think of some massacres that might occur, not deliberately, but do occur in Iraq, I mean who are we? We're dropping bombs on a country and we spread democracy during the Cold War, sixty years we spread it, exchange students, the voice of America, rap music, the jeans, blue jeans, the Pope all the things, lifted the window and let the ideas come in and we had someone receptive enough, Gorbechov, to allow this, but I think that you can't spread democracy peacefully without the barrel of a gun. I went to a talk by Ken Millman, who is the head of the GOP and very respectful audience, it was at the archives and he said the war on Iraq was the war against terrorism which nobody asked him about because we we're kind of surprised. I do kind of wonder if in the United States there's actually two sets of truths and they don't merge at all and is that because the networks have kind of decomposed, that there is no central, there's so many sources of facts now, that there is no sorts of facts. Is that a problem of our generation now? No, I think there's one set of facts and its allegedly coming from the White House however they want to spin it. When they ran out their string on weapons of mass destruction, ties to al-Qaeda, threats, they came up everday saying Iraq is the central front on the war on terrorism. They I'm not disputing that they're wrong, what I'm wondering is since there's no Walter Cronkite, who today can say he's not sure if the Vietnam War is a good idea and all of the sudden the entire country, entire country changes perspectives, we don't have a central, we don't all watch the same source of information anymore, I mean is it, is it possible for people to make up facts like is going on now and nobody, and people can actually think that the lies are true because there is no place to, there is no central authority on truth. Well, there's no central authority on truth because the truth is, where it should be coming is not there. The credibility of the White House is not so great. But when Cronkite said that LBJ was on the ropes and when he said that, then Johnson said the ball game was over. He figured that Cronkite had such gravitas, such weight with the country and when he spoke it meant a lot. So there was this kind of person, but Johnson already you know, hey, hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today, he faced that wherever, neither he not Nixon towards the ends in the war could not go anywhere but military bases, aircraft carriers, they could not go out on the street without facing protests everywhere, I mean the country was up in arms, I mean really aroused and... It wasn't a rally, once a year against the war, it was everyday, everywhere. Ms. Thomas, I don't mean to change the subject, but calling your attention back to 9/11, where were you that morning and they couldn't have press conferences because the leadership, security. I was in an office about a block away from the White House. Saw it on television, ran and told my boss and the rest is history. Thank you Ms. Thomas. Do you remain hopeful that American journalism will come around and start asking the questions again? And on the back of that, what advice would you give to young journalists just getting their start? I think the press is finally coming out of its coma, I think that they woke up, they were sort of given more of a free reign to really write the emotional part of Katrina and to even challenge the administration and what they were not doing and so forth. And so they got their sea legs back and to any journalist I would say go for it. There's never a day without news. I mean its a profession that demands that you keep learning always, its an education everyday for the rest of your life and sure its exciting, its not 9-5, news never breaks on your time. I've run top the White House at two and three o'clock in the morning many times because something was happening or about to announced. But I think its a tremendous, but first of all I think its a community service, its a public service and you definitely feel that. I went to work for $17.50 a week and I thought I had arrived. I mean, I was a copy girl and gopher, ran to get coffee, get coffee and so forth and this was absolutely a thrill so I think anyone who wants to be in journalism, is on the right track, will never be unhappy. The only unhappy people I've ever seen in journalism are those who had to leave it to put their kids through college to make enough money and we all know what tuition is today, its astronomical and so forth, so, and most of them look back in longing on the days when they were starving to death going up four flights to a rickety office and filing the wire for thirteen hours and so forth writing a story, but every bit they loved it. How much of a role do you think mentoring will have in kind of helping stop this trend of complacency in journalism? How so you think mentoring of new journalists will stop this trend of complacency? I think that whoever wants to be a journalist obviously wants it to be one. And I think they know the basic standards: 1. Honesty, accuracy. You don't defame anyone willie nilly to get a story, I mean I think the standard is so high that you don't inject that, you simply tell people how to be on the right track and its so important. I mean i would never, never, want a story where I really hurt someone personally just for my own ego or to move myself up in anyway. I tell them they're dealing with human beings and lives and they have these lives and names in their hands. You can defame somebody or anything else because of the power of the press and you should never do that. SO there is tremendous responsibility and I think in some ways you can pass on the idea of ethics, but basically, you have to want to be there and you have to want to do the right thing. But mostly I like to tell presidents to do that as long as I'm giving advice. Helen, for years you were ringside at history, who is your favorite president and do you have a favorite memory? Kennedy because I thought he was the most inspired, he reached for the stars, he knew the difference between war and peace, he had been in war. I think that he certainly grew in the office from the bay on pigs to the Cuban Missile Crisis and during the Missile Crisis, I will tell you some stories... During his first year in office, he had the first class of astronauts in for mix and mingle and for a dinner, supper with their wives and during the mix and mingle he said to the astronauts, do you think, you think we could go to the moon? And they said sure, absolutely, never say no to a president. When they left they said is this guy nuts? Is he crazy? Go to the moon? Well we went to the moon, he didn't live to see it, but we did it. On the Cuban Missile Crisis, on the bay of pigs he pulled back in the middle of the stream, but he took full responsibility. He said a tone about how you behave, even when a mistake is so glaring, but what, the world was lucky because both Kennedy and Krushev had known war , both believed ion humanity, both had nuclear arsenals to blow up the world and each stepped back from the brink, they made a deal, Kruchev let Kennedy save face, he pulled his missiles out of Cuba and Kennedy pulled, six months later we pulled our missiles out of Turkey. That's what you call s statesmanship. Afterwards, Kennedy went to American University and he told the students, "America, America would never start a war. Our generation has had enough of hate and war we want a world where the weak are secure and the strong are just. Absolutely, if only. I want to know what you're proudest of in your career and what do you want to do in the next ten year? Thanks. Live a little longer, huh? Um, I don't think there's anything to be proud of. I think I'm lucky. I think I'm lucky to have picked a profession that I love and its a joy to go to work even when you're tired and so forth, my curiosity, I don't want to miss anything. And the greatest thing about journalism is the importance of being there. So I think I've been very lucky to witness a lot of history, to travel so much with the presidents and so forth and the next ten years I wanna keep asking why? What role do you see bloggers playing and do you think they have the opportunity to step up as administration watch dogs since they don't have, most of the time they don't have to answer to the bottom line of the more corporate news sources. I think that is dangerous. Everyone with a laptop thinks they're journalists, there's no question, they're not answerable to anyone, there is no sense of basic responsibility, the standards we learn, so I think there is a danger there. At the same time you learn a lot from them. And so I think they have a tremendous impact, obviously. They certainly did in this last presidential campaign where they could get their point of view acrosss. Its very difficult I think for candidates to answer all this. Whatever they what to charge, the talk shows are very, very conservative now, they throw these charges in the air and they're is no rebuttal, there is no way to answer them. We'll take one last question please. Yes Sir. Would you give us your opinion of President Clinton? Clinton. I think that he was a good president, but he missed a chance at greatness. I think that he could have done so much more. He did work for peace in the Middle East, the Balkans, Northern Ireland and I think that he certainly wasn't aggressive and wanting to go to war and so forth, and he did leave a surplus of all of these things. But I think that if he had forgotten politics once in awhile, and really set his mind on the starts and had ideals on what was possible, he should have gone for universal health care. I don't think it would have sold them, it would take some beginning, but it would have been a start and you... a single pair. I mean Truman proposed Medicare, it was LBJ that rammed ti through, but it took that time, but that's ok. You keep it out there and up front and so forth. And I can't understand what's happened to the democrats, I mean if they don't get there act together, well. Thank you Ms. Thomas.