Helen Thomas hits White House for lack of transparency

Helen Thomas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Thomas
White House lack of transparency


http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/07/01/helen-thomas-hits-white-house-for-lack...

At the White House presser on Wednesday, several correspondents questioned the way the Oval Office selected questions from the public for todays virtual town hall.

President Barack Obama answered pre-selected questions Wednesday afternoon about health care sent in from emails, Facebook and Twitter. CBS Chip Reid and columnist Helen Thomas thought this reflected a lack of transparency at the White House.

It feels like the concept of a town hall, I think, is to have an open public forum. And this sounds like a very tightly controlled audience and list of questions. Why do it that way? asked Reid.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs deflected the question, but that only raised the ire of Helen Thomas, UPIs veteran correspondent who has long been at the top of the White House press corps totem pole.

We have never had that in the White House, Thomas said, referring to the degree that press events are pre-scripted in the Obama administration. Im amazed, Im amazed at you people who called for openness and transparency

Thats when things got testy, and Gibbs looked very uncomfortable as Reid and Thomas took turns attacking his evasive answers.

Calling reporters the night before, telling them theyre going to be called on — thats shocking, Thomas said, referring to an incident last week when Huffington Postblogger Nico Pitney was given advance warning that he would be called on to ask a question on behalf of the Iranian public.

This video is from C-SPAN, broadcast July 1, 2009.

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[sugarpuddin88]

Just face it: Americans love to bend over & take it like a little yatch!

Meanwhile, my Norwegian Kroners are going ballistic - Thank god I rolled all my IRAs, 401s & annuities into foreign currency IRAs

Now I'm making a killing!

The worse America does, the more money I make!

Go America Go!

[CognitiveDisonance]

"The world is corrupt beyond your wildest dreams my fellow Americans - and we, perhaps, are the most gullible of all nations."

The Grand Deception: The Theft of America and the World

By Christopher Mark

[GravityBoy72]

Gibbs and Thomas were spot on.

Why should questions be filtered?

The white house spokemans like like a d*ck.

[thirdworldassassin]

no ... united states citezens love to take it up the ass ... americans will run your ass over for looking at em wrong ... america will rise again ... hail America , the Grand Republic ... i am the michigan representative....

[airforcemax]

Helen Thomas asks the tough questions few will answer. Her critics still smear her character. Fox New and their commentators and guests as horrible like Rupert Murdoch. Barack Hussein Obama II is as dishonest as the Democrats in the Los Angeles City Council and County with Republican big money spender Mike Antonovich and all Democrats, especially in the state in Sacramento.

[unoitaliano]

Helen Thomas for President!!! I would love to see Robert Gibbs being indicated for treason along with the rest of those traitors in DC..this is not America anymore..America has been hijacked by a bunch of simpletons!!! unfortunetly these simpletons have no real sense of what America is. They are all corrupt bought and paid for whores..they care not about the future of America..they only care about filling their pockets and opressing the citizens their BOSSES!! this is enough for a revolution.

[TheJcp1234]

Robert Gibbs is a snake.

[avamilan]

Helen  Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[zole2112]

I love this video, Gibbs looks like the tool he truly is.

[mae0742]

At the very end "Because I didn't know you were going to ask a question Helen". That makes the whole point. Gibbs didn't know how to respond, because her question wasn't given to the Obama Administration in advance so they would be prepared with a response. Gibbs is a total F' ING IDIOT.

[63lee63]

How condescending Mr. Gibbs is.

[schwitt01]

He's trying to straw man, and to limit back to procedure. ("Lets have this discussion later") Thats the first time I've seen such a questioning approach at an official in such a situation - so many times I hear an awful answer, one that's either shocking and needs to be investigated, or a complete cop out. The reporters, wanting to look compliant so they don't get ignored by being labelled a muck racker, carry on like they recieved a good explanation. Gibbs is an ass.

[packetscan]

Helen, We love you.

[GravityBoy72]

Sorry Chip and Thomas.

Gibbs is the one that looks like a d*ck.