What about Helen Thomas is too racy for HBO?
HBO's short bio on longtime UPI White House correspondent Helen Thomas – "Thank You, Mr. President" – premiers Monday night at 9 p.m. Tom Shales, the Washington Post's TV critic, seems happy enough with the flick, except for its failure to tackle her harsh criticisms of Israel:
What's disappointing about Thomas, and troubling about the film, is her stridency in criticizing Israel and defending its enemies. Other than a passing reference to Thomas's parents as having been Syrian immigrants, the film never hints at Thomas's anti-Israeli rhetoric. In her writings, she's already dismissed both John McCain and Barack Obama as being friendly to Israel and hostile to the Palestinians, "so the Israelis have no worries about the November election."Especially during the current administration, her "questions" at press briefings have been more like tirades, on one occasion prompting Tony Snow, the late journalist who was then press secretary, to respond, "Well, thank you for the Hezbollah view." This would have been a pertinent and amusing clip to include in the film. Not for nothing was Thomas recently hailed as "the epitome of journalistic integrity for over 57 years" – by the Arab American News.
When controversies are a large part of a person's career, it's reasonable to expect even an adulatory documentary at least to mention them. "Thank You, Mr. President" could easily have included both sides – Thomas attacked and Thomas defended. Even attacking the attackers would have been more honest than ignoring the matter altogether.
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The problem appears to be that Helen Thomas has a reputation for “telling it is” and has more cojones than the entire male Washingon press corps combined which has been neutered by the very same folks who have eunuchized both Obama and McCain and every presidential winner who came before them except for Poppy Bush and Jimmy Carter.
What she had to say about both of this year’s candidates was painfully apparent from watching Jon Stewart’s send-up of their presentations to AIPAC on the Daily Show. Of course, if he wasn’t Jewish, he wouldn’t have had the guts to do it.
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David Sternlight
08/18/08 04:03 PM
You don’t get it. Helen Thomas has very high entertainment value. Of course she’s of Arab ancestry and biased about the middle east. Everyone at the White House press conferences knows that.
She is, however, a very friendly, self-effacing person in private, and eats regularly at middle eastern restaurants in Washington, where she is open and accessible to her fellow diners of whatever ethnicity.
She reminds me of the old saying, “It’s great to hear an old lion roar.”