Interview With Journalist Helen Thomas
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. Imagine having a front row seat to history and being able to grill and greet America's history makers. That's Helen Thomas. She's been giving it to these guys since 1961. John F. Kennedy's first year in office, and she was the only woman. And guess what -- she taught the men folk there a thing or two. And she's still doing it. Take a look at this exchange with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on health care reform and the public option.</s>ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We're going to work to get choice and competition into health care reform.</s>HELEN THOMAS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS CORPS: You're never going to get it.</s>GIBBS: Well, then, why do you keep asking me?</s>THOMAS: Because I want your conscience to bother you.</s>GIBBS: Wow. Should we sit down and I confess a little bit to you?</s>SANCHEZ: Now, Helen Thomas has some advise for the leader of the free world. She's put it all together in "Listen Up, Mr. President," a book she's written along with veteran political writer Craig Crawford. And, by the way, Craig Crawford is an old pal of mine. We used to work together in a previous job that I used to have. I wish I could talk to him more often. How are you all doing?</s>CRAIG CRAWFORD, VETERAN POLITICAL WRITER: Great. We're glad to be here. Helen's raring to go. You want to get some of that Gibbs' treatment?</s>SANCHEZ: No, no. I'm going to -- I'm going to be real nice, Ms. Thomas, I swear. Hey, look -- you know, as I look through your book, I see what's inviting about it is, even in just the chapters -- I mean, "You Are Not Above the Law, Mr. President. Read the Constitution." What are you guys trying to say there? Helen?</s>THOMAS: Pardon?</s>SANCHEZ: What are you trying to say in a chapter called, "You Are Not Above the Law, Mr. President. Read the Constitution"?</s>THOMAS: Exactly those words.</s>SANCHEZ: Which president?</s>THOMAS: Oh, practically -- especially the last one. I think we definitely took the Constitution apart.</s>CRAWFORD: The security wiretaps and...</s>THOMAS: Exactly.</s>CRAWFORD: ... the detainees and Guantanamo. These are some of things Helen asked a lot of questions about.</s>THOMAS: Torture.</s>SANCHEZ: Torture.</s>THOMAS: Putting that albatross around their necks forever in history.</s>SANCHEZ: Is it just something that past president -- I mean, you -- how many you've covered again? How many presidents have you covered, Helen?</s>THOMAS: Only 10.</s>CRAWFORD: Only 10.</s>SANCHEZ: You've got to love that. Who was the worst when it came to this particular chapter? Was it -- was it George W. Bush?</s>THOMAS: In terms of civil rights, our liberties, I would say, yes, President Bush 43.</s>SANCHEZ: OK. Let's turn to President Clinton, then. Next chapter. I'm guessing here, by the way, "Watch Your Image, You're on YouTube." Was this a constant -- Craig, was this President Clinton's faux pas?</s>CRAWFORD: Yes. One of the things they didn't like early in their administration was being photographed on the beach one time and a few other problems in that administration. But, you know, we also go back in history to a lot of presidents who had image problems. One of our favorites was William Howard Taft when he got stuck in the tub and the four construction workers pried him out of the tub. What happened was, when they took the tub out, the construction workers, to make room for an oversized tub, they dropped it and cracked it. Then they brought it outside. The reporters saw the crack and the whole story around the nation was that Taft had actually cracked his own bathtub, which wasn't true. But it became a national joke. It just shows you how sometimes your image can get way out of whack from what the actual truth is because of those darn reporters, Rick.</s>SANCHEZ: But you say it's important to tell the truth -- to tell the truth. I mean, look -- you say, have courage even if it hurts. Tell the truth no matter what. Look, politically, a lot of these guys can't do that, because the system doesn't work that way anymore. Would you -- would you argue it can? How? Helen?</s>THOMAS: Yes, they can. It does work that way. The American people can handle the truth. What they can't handle is a lot of lies, the lies that took us into Iraq, in the run-up to the war that was so blatant. Where are the weapons of mass destruction? Where are the ties to al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein? Where's the threat of a third world country? All of these things are falsehoods.</s>SANCHEZ: Let's do...</s>THOMAS: We went to war. Thousands are dead, thousands wounded for a life.</s>SANCHEZ: You have a courageous point of view for someone who works inside the Beltway. And it's interesting. I want to talk more about this. For those of you who want to continue this conversation -- by the way, the book is called "Listen Up, Mr. President." great read. I'm sure Wolf Blitzer is going to give it a look. Speaking of Wolf Blitzer, here is Mr. Blitzer from "THE SITUATION ROOM."