"Helen Thomas was born the year women got the vote and entered the workforce writing radio copy during World War II, when the men were away fighting and there were jobs for women. When the men returned home, the women were expected to do the same, but Thomas held her ground, displaying the determination and the grit that would mark a career that spanned 10 presidents, from Kennedy to Obama... She never let the awe she felt temper her tough questions. She regarded presidents as flawed human beings just passing through, and she had a contentious relationship at times with every president. After she left United Press International for Hearst Newspapers, President George W. Bush took the opportunity to move her out of the front-row seat reserved for wire-service reporters in presidential press conferences to a back row where he could better ignore her sharp questions about the Iraq War... Her perseverance and her performance over these many decades blazed a trail for those who followed, and she never tired of reminding young women how anything worth having is worth fighting for. She will be remembered as tough and relentless, qualities that define her success, but there was a softer side to Thomas. In 1971, at age 50, she married her competitor, Doug Thornell, AP’s White House correspondent, who had announced his retirement. Four years later, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Thomas with the help of one of her sisters, cared for him until he died in 1982. Decades later, the mere mention of his name would bring tears to her eyes."
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 18:37:32 +0000
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