Helen Thomas

The Sad Ending Of The Career Of Helen Thomas

Ronald 2 Comments

Helen Thomas had a long, distinguished career at United Press International, and was the dean of the White House Press Corps, always allowed in recent years the opportunity to ask the President of the United States the first question at White House press conferences. She has reported on every President since John F. Kennedy took the oath of office!

She entered the journalism field in 1943 when she was 22 years old, and therefore, had a run of 67 years in journalism, certainly the longest career anyone has ever had in print journalism, with only a few exceptions such as Mike Wallace, Walter Cronkite, and Daniel Schorr in electronic journalism able to match her longevity!

But Thomas made a fatal mistake when she was recorded, and later spread on You Tube, asserting that the Jewish population should leave Israel for the Palestinians and “go back to Poland, Germany, America” and elsewhere!

This statement bordered on being anti Semitic, and it brought up the Lebanese Christian heritage of Thomas’s parents. It was a totally inappropriate and outrageous declaration by Helen Thomas, and it led to a firestorm of protest coming from such people as Ari Fleischer, former Press Secretary to President George W. Bush, and the present Press Secretary to President Obama, Robert Gibbs.

Very quickly, Thomas profusely apologized, but the damage was done, and the Hearst News Service, her most recent employer, announced the end of her service with them, and she announced her retirement.

It is certainly time at age 89 for someone to retire, but not under such circumstances! It brings up the issue of how does one recognize it is time to leave any job or profession, and in a graceful way! Unfortunately, there are many examples of people unwilling to deal with retirement, including politicians of both parties who, like Strom Thurmond and Robert Byrd, resist the inevitable!

This is a growing issue for the future as America ages, and the need for counseling to understand when it is time to give others a chance to enter as you leave gracefully!

Helen Thomas’s Advice To President Obama

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Helen Thomas, the 89 year old news woman who has been on the White House beat since the Kennedy Administration, has written a new book in which she gives advice to President Obama.

Her advice is, needless to say, priceless and wise.

Life in the White House will be more difficult as time goes by, and the best moments of glory and happiness are probably already past.

The concept of privacy is gone, and will never return, as once a public servant at this level of responsibility, a President will never again know what it is to be a private citizen, even after leaving office.

The promotion of an “open” administration is always to be preferred, as if you try to avoid telling the whole story and avoid the media, it will reverberate against you.

It is important to have strong convictions and courage, and do not allow yourself to be deterred by public pressure from others to do what you believe is right.

You must have a vision and have the ability to inspire and promote a legacy you can be proud of. Delivery of results is imperative, as talk is not louder than action.

Obama’s honeymoon is over, but he has the capability to have a dramatic effect on the nation’s future. Let us hope he understands Helen Thomas’s advice!