by Eric Jaffa, Saturday, February 26, 2005

Helen Thomas, who was born in 1920 in Kentucky to parents who were immigrants from Lebanon,
has been reporting on politics since 1943.

James Guckert had practically no journalism experience when he was allowed into the White House briefing room to ask questions starting in 2003.

James Guckert, who used the alias "Jeff Gannon," did have experience as a prostitute (literally).

The White House wanted him there in spite of his dubious qualifications. James Guckert ("Jeff Gannon") asked softball questions and smeared Democrats.

James Guckert ("Jeff Gannon") continued asking these kind of questions until he resigned recently after his lack of journalistic qualifications was exposed.

How can rightwing pundits defend all this?

In Ann Coulter's case, by making a racist remark.

"Press passes can't be that hard to come by if the White House allows that old Arab Helen Thomas to sit within yards of the president."

-Ann Coulter, February 23, 2005

Ann Coulter is a regular guest on the Fox News shows "Hannity and Colmes" and "The O'Reilly Factor."

I wonder if this racist remark will have any effect on whether the producers of those shows keep inviting her on. They may not read Ann Coulter's website and may not be aware of the remark right now, but I hope Coulter's racist remark gets enough coverage that they will learn about it and have to make a decision.

Please contact the media to expose Ann Coulter's racist remark.

Note: The syndicator, Universal Press Syndicate (UExpress), cleaned up that racist remark instead of exposing Ann Coulter's racism:

http://www.uexpress.com/anncoulter/

"Press passes can't be that hard to come by if the White House allows that dyspeptic, old Helen Thomas to sit within yards of the president."

Background of Helen Thomas

Helen Thomas was "born in Winchester, Kentucky, on August 4, 1920, to Lebanese immigrants, Helen Thomas was the seventh of nine children. When she was four years old, the family moved to Detroit, Michigan."

"She became the first female White House bureau chief of a wire service in 1974."

Helen Thomas worked for UPI from 1943-2000, when she resigned after UPI was purchased by the Unification Church.

In 2003, Helen Thomas described George W. Bush as "the worst president ever," later explaining to Australian reporter Andrew Denton it had to do with the Iraq War:

Because I don't believe in war as…as the first alternative. I think that everything should be done to avoid it. I don't believe that we should ever become a nation that…pre-empts a war, that attacks a nation without…that has done nothing to us.

And I think there are only two rules under the UN charter where you actually go to war in self-defence, which is you were attacked or you have a treaty with an ally and have agreed to come to the aid of this nation, another nation. But this is…For us to…to attack a nation that has done nothing to us and has been in a stranglehold for 12 years — no, sorry, I'll bow out on that one.

Cartoon by Mike Luckovich

For more on James Guckert, who used the name "Jeff Gannon" in the White House briefing room, see my previous article:
Lust: The Media Whore Who Literally Was a Whore, 'Jeff Gannon'

Update evening of Feb. 27, 2005

Ann Coulter's racist remark is now exposed in Editor & Publisher. I want to thank everyone who contacted the media, and I also want to credit the blog DC Media Girl where I first read that Ann Coulter quote.

Update evening of Feb. 28, 2005

According to Lisa Tarry, associate Editor of United Press Syndicate, Ann Coulter sent them the ‘dyspeptic, old Helen Thomas’ version, not the ‘old Arab’ version on www.anncoutler.com ( "Coulter and Universal Press," Crooks & Liars blog, Feb. 28, 2005.)

However, someone else at Universal Press Syndicate says they may have edited it.

Ann Coulter's editor at Universal Press Syndicate, Greg Melvin, is on vacation and can't be reached. I think that Greg Melvin editing it is the most likely explanation ("Universal Didn't Distribute 'Old Arab' in Coulter Column, Not Sure She Sent It" by Dave Astor, Editor & Publisher, Feb. 28, 2005):

NEW YORK Universal Press Syndicate confirms that Ann Coulter's description of fellow columnist Helen Thomas as an "old Arab" was not in the Feb. 23 Coulter piece it sent to newspapers. And Universal isn't even sure the phrase appeared in the version Coulter submitted to the syndicate.

The "old Arab" reference did appear in the version of the column posted on Coulter's Web site.

Kathie Kerr, director of communications at Universal, said the syndicate is trying to determine what was in the Feb. 23 column Coulter transmitted to Universal. "We don't know if the word was sent in and Greg edited it out or if it was never sent to us to begin with," she told E&P, referring to Greg Melvin, Coulter's editor at Universal. Kerr said the syndicate has been unable to reach Melvin (who's on vacation) or Coulter.

The Coulter Web site version of the Feb. 23 column, which focused on controversial ex-White House reporter James Guckert (a.k.a. Jeff Gannon), reads: "Press passes can't be that hard to come by if the White House allows that old Arab Helen Thomas to sit within yards of the president." In the version posted on Universal's site, the subject of Coulter's words is instead described as "dyspeptic, old Helen Thomas."

My guess is that Ann Coulter sent Univeral Press her article including the phrase "that old Arab Helen Thomas" and Universal Press editor Greg Melvin changed it to "that dyspeptic, old Helen Thomas."