Helen, Israel & Glass Ceilings

“It is a sad finale for someone who helped break down barriers for women journalists at the center of American power,” so says an L.A. Times editorial of Helen Thomas. Her “terrible answer” to a question about Israel might overshadow a long and distinguished career, in which she broke many glass ceilings, it states. “UPI assigned Thomas to John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign — to cover his beautiful wife. When Kennedy won, Thomas went to the White House and reportedly dared her bosses to remove her from the job. They didn’t.” “Blunt, irascible, argumentative. Those words have long been used to describe Helen Thomas, the grande dame of the White House press corps, particularly in recent years as her questions became less and less coherent.”