Last night, I had the privilege, along with about a dozen journalists, of attending a dinner with Helen Thomas at the University Club in Washington, DC. The dinner was off the record, as far as I am aware, but I just wanted to say that Helen Thomas is a national treasure - fearless, passionate, dedicated, possessing tremendous integrity. In short, Helen Thomas, who has spent more than 60 years of her life covering Washington politics, remains as feisty and fiery today as ever. Helen Thomas knows that the Bush Administration is built on lies. She knows that journalism is in bad shape today, having utterly failed the public leading up to the disastrous Iraq War. And she knows -- as she writes in the forward to her book, "Watchdogs of Democracy?", -- that journalists are essential to "helping to keep democracy and the exchange of free ideas alive at home and abroad."
In sum, it was great spending a couple of hours with Helen Thomas last night. I urge other journalists, and bloggers for that matter, to follow her lead of integrity and courage.
P.S. As an added bonus, I got a signed copy of her book, which I have already started reading.