Helen Thomas, long time White House Correspondent and Journalist, spoke last night in Salt Lake City. People who went to hear her speak had to be turned away because the venue quickly filled up to the point of standing room only. Thomas is frequently referred to as “The First Lady of the Press.”
Journalist Helen Thomas lived up to her reputation Saturday in Salt Lake City, delivering a fiery speech to a standing-room-only crowd of hundreds that a tent-revival minister might be proud of.
“Reporters were gullible to the White House spin,” she said. “Our much touted standards of fairness, and above all truth, the holy grail of our profession, took a holiday.”
Of Bush, a man she calls a staunch conservative who views the world in blacks and whites, she said, “He wanted to be known as a war president. He is.”
Thomas, who has covered nine presidents in her 57 years as White House correspondent for United Press International, criticized Bush for thinking he is “above the law,” citing his secret authorization of domestic wiretapping and the treatment of detainees.
“I believe people can handle the truth, and deserve no less,” she said.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 