Will Bush shutting up Helen Thomas today at press conference get the

[Algorem]

coverage it should?What a huge coward/bully.

[shoelace414]

1. wha happened?

[Algorem]

9. Bush called on reporter next to her and camera showed Helen Thomas

asking question but Bush just kept irritadedly saying other reporter's name until Helen Thomas shut up and the other woman asked hers.Then of course Bush never went back to Helen Thomas.Seems to me like a big screw-up by Bush to me(because they fortunately were showing Helen Thomas before he could stop her.)and should be used against him as much as possible.

[MichiganVote]

17. All hail the Commander-In-Chief

Intimidated by 80 something little old dye haired Helen Thomas. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

Do I have to keep living here with this fucking baby if he is re-elected? Don't answer. I know I will for now.

[wicket]

26. what a bastard!!!

:grr:

[benburch]

2. How dare he!

Is there audio somewhere?

[GainesT1958]

3. Missed it...what did Dub say/do to her?

Everything Dub does in public reinforces what a panty-waisted coward he is!:mad:

When he's safely evicted from the White House, I hope Helen has the opportunity to SLUG HIM!:grr:

B-)

[bossfish]

5. What happened?

[tridim]

4. I can't wait until Kerry's first press conference

I guarantee he'll call on Helen first.

[Mr.Green93]

20. her first question,

how soon will you put the former President on trial?

[trumad]

6. I thought it was Andy Card who did that?

[Sparkly]

7. I think they both did

I definitely saw the chimp call on Suzanne Malveaux (sp?) and snub Helen, even though she was already mid-question, then went to a man for the last question.

Andy Card said something snarky to Helen as he left. Did he stop her from asking a question, too? Anybody know what she said?

[Sahjhan]

8. Yes. I saw that.

It made me sick. He acted like he was God or something.

What an a**hole.

[FlaGranny]

10. Imagine grown men being

afraid of a little old lady. I don't blame them, though. She's a lot smarter than they are.

[Bluebear]

11. CNN will report they gave Helen chocolates and a catered lunch

[Doctor_J]

12. i predict that malloy will rerun the audio

[Ilsa]

16. I am so looking forward to hearing him tonight. eom

[blueblitzkrieg]

13. If Kerry did this...

the 'liberal media' would crucify him.

[soothsayer]

14. i wondered who he was shouting down with "suzanne suzanne suzanne"

what a dick

[stopbush]

18. And Suzanne being a lipstick-and-do reporter didn't have the

decency or guts to defer to Helen. "Mr President, I think Helen was asking a question. I'll let her go first."

Yeah, I know...in my dreams...

[Demoiselle]

22. Me too, Soothsayer!

It wasn't easy to pick out Helen's voice in the general hubbub, but that nasty, borderline panicked tone in Bush's voice made me think "I wonder if he's shutting Helen Thomas down?" Turns out I was right! Thanks guys, I wouldn't be nearly so smart if I didn't log on to DU! (Seriously, their treatment of Helen Thomas is a simple demonstration of how little respect they have for the whole country. Disgusting!

[Ilsa]

15. Being in Texas, I was thinking of writing in Helen's name

for presidnt on my ballot, just to hope that word gets to * that someone thinks she deserves his job more than he does.

BTW, I saw it and I was screaming at my TV. Shrub called on one of the clones from CNN (Suzanne Malveaux) to interrupt HT.

[LibDemAlways]

19. It looked to me like

the chimp had his usual list of reporters to call on. Helen wasn't on the list.

[dbt]

21. "Keep those motherfuckers away from me!"

bu$h is alleged to have yelled this at an aide backstage after his 7/8 "news" conference when the "journalists" got all over him about Kenney-Boy Lay.

Looks like the meds have now been adjusted for more "compassionate" behavior.

"Mr. bu$h, your toaster is ready."

:evilgrin:
dbt

[Tactical Progressive]

23. Bush has been ignoring Helen Thomas for over a year now

from what I've seen.

It's pathetic, but that's his right. She has alot of animosity towards BushCo and came right out and said something like 'he's the worst President in history' or some such. While it may be true, that isn't something you'd expect a newsperson to say.

How many questions from Brit Hume do you suppose Kerry should have to take? Should he have to call on Ann Coulter if she becomes WH Correspondent for Fox? I know I wouldn't.

Lighten up. This isn't time to be angry, it's time to reload with one more factoid you can spread around about how Bush only calls on his Fox turd-polishers and not seasoned White House reporters. That's a good thing.

[BeHereNow]

30. Oh Yes It Is!

"While it may be true, that isn't something you'd expect
a newsperson to say."

As a matter of fact, I depend on someone like Helen
to speak the truth. She is, after all, a journalist!
Who can blame her for espousing the truth and taking her
job seriously? Bush is the WORST President in our history!
She simply reported a fact!
GO HELEN!
BHN

[linazelle]

31. Give me a break--Bush is and should act as if he is the bigger of the two

He's such a coward, he makes himself look small by choosing such a feeble enemy. He'd do better brushing up on his own agenda and policies and answering a fucking question or two without throwing in the word "terror". He might actually come off looking like he has a brain.

As for newspeople airing opinions, you must be out of your mind to say that it's wrong for Thomas to do that when the RW people do it all the time. Nobody censors them. I just posted "journalist" Howard Fineman's comments from Newsweek calling the convention a pagent and Campbell Brown's continuing lies and distortions in response.

[Generic Other]

24. Bush put Helen Thomas on " ignore"

Proves that function makes you look stupid if you use it.

So quit ignoring me!

[HootieMcBoob]

25. Did anyone hear what Helen's question was?

Or get an idea of what it might have been about?

[joanski01]

27. I surely hope that Helen

will write a column on this. I'd love to hear what she has to say about this. bush* is a low-life disrespectful arrogant piece of poop. cow dung. with shiny flies on it.

[enki23]

28. that was one of the rudest things *yet* to come out of this administration

and that's truly saying something. it's bad enough they won't take her questions, but to actually fucking *mock* her about it on national television?

oh, who am i kidding. i'm sure they put together a focus group which found this shit would play well with republican voters.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

29. the nerve

bush isn't fit to be in the same room as helen, let alone shout her down

[Keirsey]

32. "Screw You, Mr. President"

Slate press box Media criticism.

Helen Thomas used to ask questions in press briefings. Now she makes speeches.
By Jack Shafer
Posted Wednesday, March 12, 2003, at 2:34 PM PT

At his televised news conference last week, President George W. Bush deliberately snubbed several reporters he ordinarily calls upon, including journos from the Washington Post, Newsweek, and USA Today. But the most conspicuous recipient of the 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. freeze-out was longtime UPI reporter Helen Thomas, who has barbed and grilled every president since John F. Kennedy and almost always gets to ask a question. Bush pointedly ignored her.

Bush then dealt Thomas a second slight. By custom, Thomas concludes White House press conferences at the president's signal by saying, "Thank you, Mr. President." Bush denied her that supporting role, ending the conference with his own sign off, "Thank you for your questions," and flushing a decades-old White House custom.

Bush's slaps at Thomas are consistent with the psy-ops his information wranglers conduct day-in and day-out on the White House press corps. Bush's news conferences have become increasingly scripted, with the president calling on reporters from a preset list and refusing the follow-up questions that might trick him into saying something substantive. Press Secretary Ari Fleischer has lobotomized the White House press corps in official briefings by jawing more and more and saying less and less. (The smarter reporters play hooky these days rather than endure Fleischer obfuscations.) Last October, Fleischer maliciously tampered with the corps' self-esteem by reassigning seats in the briefing room. The new chart demoted scribes from Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report from the Park Place of the second row to the Siberia of the sixth. (Pressies live for their little perks, and the White House reporters revealed their Ted Baxterian pettiness for all to see when they bellyached about the reshuffle.)

http://slate.msn.com/id/2080034

[Keirsey]

33. Organized Official Republican Party Smear Campaign Against Helen Thomas

Bush Assault To Intimidate Media
White House Correspondents' Association Silent

Not since Richard M. Nixon made a little list -- an enemies list -- of those in the press and in politics who disagreed with his policies has a U.S. President launched a public personal attack on a specific American journalist.

Now, the ever-reliable Hotline reports, George W. Bush has mobilized the Republican National Committee to beat up the outspoken truth-teller, venerated senior White House correspondent, and "First Lady of the press," Helen Thomas, because she has DARED to criticize his public policies...

PRESS PASS:
GOP Asks Activists To Take On Helen Thomas

In response to Helen Thomas' recent column naming Pres. Bush "the worst President in all of American history," the RNC is asking supporters to "Call Her Out." They provide the following information online:

"Helen Thomas -- Hearst News Service
Title: Columnist
Department: Headquarters
E-mail:
Phone:
Fax:
Address:

"
(RNC e-mail, 2/20).

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1613.htm

[ploppy]

34. It was a

shocking thing to see how rude he was. What a big fucking baby he is.

[Karenina]

35. Helen is the ULTIMATE

proper little ol' lady AND AN AMERICAN GIANT!!! How DARE this poorly raised *turdball disrespect her voice!

I have it on "authority" that the *dauphintwit put his nassy boots up on one of his mama's coffe tables, announcing he could do what he wanted being the prezzeldent und alles. He DID remove his feet, now I don't wanna be spreading rumors or anythin' but that *boy sure does show up with a lotta marks on 'im...

[marzipanni]

36. When the press is ignored because they wouldn't sign

an affadavit of support, like the people who wanted to hear Cheney speak, Bush*s dream of being a dictator is further manifesting in reality.
I've never hear Limbaugh take a call from anyone but Dittoheads...
(A tree needs to grow without stakes propping it up it or it will fall when the first strong wind comes along.)