Helen Thomas
Helen Thomas
Helen Amelia Thomaswas an American author and news service reporter, member of the White House press corps and opinion columnist. She worked for the United Press and post-1958 successor United Press Internationalfor 57 years, first as a correspondent, and later as White House bureau manager. She was a columnist for Hearst Newspapers from 2000 to 2010, writing on national affairs and the White House. She covered the administrations of eleven U.S. presidents—from the final years of the Eisenhower administration to...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJournalist
Date of Birth4 August 1920
CityWinchester, KY
CountryUnited States of America
It's like I say to young people who ask me about going into journalism: If you want to be loved, don't go into this business.
Great presidents take stands, and they fight off these people who really are so far to the right. I don't want to call them names, even though they would call me names.
I have a background and an understanding of what's happened in the Middle East that a lot of people don't have, because there's been no interest.
I covered two presidents, LBJ and Nixon, who could no longer convince, persuade, or govern, once people had decided they had no credibility, but we seem to be more tolerant now of what I think we should not tolerate.
The White House used to belong to the American people. At least that's what I learned from history books and from covering every president starting with John F. Kennedy.
You cannot have a democracy without an informed people.
We in the press have a special role since there is no other institution in our society that can hold the President accountable. I do believe that our democracy can endure and prevail only if the American people are informed.
Try to reject war and give peace a chance. Question the powers that be and find out why they make the dubious decisions they do that send young people to war.
I've never seen an administration that was more secretive.
I suppose that's democracy really. But everybody with a laptop thinks they're a journalist these days. That's a problem.
Many voters think about the makeup of the Supreme Court when they are choosing a president. The justices deal not only with constitutional issues but also with social issues that were unknown to the founding fathers who wrote the Constitution more than 200 years ago.
You don't spread democracy with a barrel of a gun.
United Press International is a great news agency. It has made a remarkable mark in the annals of American journalism and has left a superb legacy for future journalists. I wish the new owners all the best, great stories and happy landings.
To my mind, a president should care about all people, and he didn't, which is why I will always feel Reagan lacked soul.