Posted on 03/05/2005 5:12:17 PM PST by reformjoy
LOUDONVILLE -
Legendary journalist and unofficial first lady of the
White House pressroom Helen Thomas kicked off Siena
College's First Woman President symposium Friday,
saying she was confident that the day will come when a
woman takes that solemn oath to lead the nation.
"If the knuckleheads I've seen bumble through the job can
get elected, then why not a woman," quipped Thomas,
to the applause of a packed house at Siena's Student
Union building. "We will have a woman president by the
end of the century."
Since the day President John F. Kennedy took office,
Thomas has been a mainstay during White House press
conferences, much to the chagrin many of our nation's
leaders who feared her tough questions.
"It's the only forum where the president can be
questioned and be held accountable," said Thomas, who has
been accused by President Bush's handlers of blindsiding
the current president a few times.
Thomas served 57-years as a correspondent for United
Press International and as White House bureau chief.
She helped break down professional barriers for women by
being the first female member of both National Press Club
and White House Correspondents Association. She fully
understands how far women have come since the times when
they were not allowed to vote.
And she agrees with a recently completed Siena survey
that found 62 percent of those polled said they were
ready for a female president in 2008.
The presidency is a quantum leap," said Thomas, who
currently works as a syndicated columnist, "but the
American people are ready for it. ... So let's give them
the best woman leader, who is bright, trustworthy,
compassionate (and) willing to go the distance to make
this a better world."
She also believes that U.S Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is
probably the best potential candidate out there today.
"Why not. ... She couldn't do much worse than what we
have," she snickered. "Hillary is the frontrunner, no
doubt. ... She has positioned herself well to make it
happen.
"She's a brilliant speaker and learned from her husband
that politics is a personality test."
After being asked by the audience what woman she thinks
would have made the best female president, it only took
seconds for Thomas to answer President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt's wife Eleanor, who had the compassion,
strength and intelligence needed for the job.
"In some ways she was the president in that she was her
husband's eyes and ears and went to the battlefields,"
said Thomas. "She had the brains and the temperament."
Many students and professors in attendance also agreed
that gender should be not be the deciding factor when it
comes to electing people to office.
"I think we're at the point in society where a person's
credentials, talents and strengths should be the
determining factor - not gender," said Siena sophomore
Alexander LaPoint.
Others were hopeful that today's teenagers will take that
philosophy to the next level when they become eligible to
vote.
"Females are in every profession today, and I think the
younger generation has grown more used to seeing women as
equals," said Florida Atlantic University political
studies teacher Judith Selzer. "So yes ... I think we're
absolutely ready for a female president in the next 20
years.
"My prediction - Helen Thomas will croak before the end of the century."
LOL
I have one of those witches....love to put it up during Halloween and visits by Hillary.
I think Helen is right to a certain degree. Too many people vote for someone based on personality, rather than values. I wouldn't be surprised at all to find out that some politically uninformed people voted for GWB just because they liked his personality more than they did Kerry's, which isn't a problem as far as I'm concerned because I wanted GWB to win. Kerry knew that his patrician, distant demeanor was a liability and he tried to overcome it by allowing himself to be put in situations that made him look like an idiot. Nothing he did could make him appealing to people.
"I can't imagine a woman dealing with the likes of of men like Saddam. We just don't have what it takes IMHO."
I tend to disagree....for a few days in every month, I'd frighten Satan and Saddam into submission. Just ask my hubby! ;-}
Click.
"I can't imagine a woman dealing with the likes of of men like Saddam. We just don't have what it takes IMHO."
Tell that to Condi ! I can see her now ...in her Matrix outfit ...with stiletto heeled boots and leather , whip in hand , ordering Kim to submit : " You will submit you wimp ! You will submit ! " ...and Kim licking her boots ...
She died 46 years ago.........nobody bothered to tell her.
Hey, you're scaring me!
But, you're right.
Hillary is "moving" into position NOW.
In this "information age" you'd think we could get a copy of Hillary's thesis on Saul Alinsky!
But, NO. It's hidden away.
AND at this time in history, the crackdown on the internet has begun, with China calling for global controls and shutting down THOUSANDS of Cyber-cafe's in China....
Can you imagine the assault on the Internet if Hillary Rodham Clinton EVER won the presidency?
America would be like the dark-ages of Hitler's Germany!
LIVING HISTORY.... whether we like it, not.
Has somebody ever told this woman that she DOESN'T have a way with words -- that her writing style is that of one flying into rage with a pick axe at their keyboard, frustrated at their inability to compose anything a civilized person would want to read?
According to her, every liberal loser is a "brilliant speaker," and the next architect of civilization in the 21st century -- until they are dragged off shouting incoherently to anybody who will still listen, about how they were robbed of the presidency.
Why does the New York Times run her rantings as the face and form of the liberal/Democratic movement in this country? Is it to maintain their own sense of superiority?
Lord have mercy!!! That is the definition of ugly.
It is frustrating to hear the MEDIA fawn over Hillary.
WHY do they do this for her? Do they suspect she will rise in power, and they, the elite, want to dine at her Round Table?
The media has power, but all they do is bow down to Hillary.
I can understand the sentiment, but our children, or children's children will still be here.
I asked an activist friend, why we bother, when certain
events seem destined to happen.
Her look and her words hit me hard.
"You want to be on the right side don't you?"
Yes, there is a battle, between evil and good,
and we may not stop the final battles, but we
can stay strong and fight for the RIGHT side.
Whether it is us, or our children, there must
be some of US there to stand tall on the side
of right!
There should be term limits placed on these blood sucking reporters that spend a life time bloviating but never DOING anything. Helen...RETIRE ALREADY.
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