Correspondent's bias making news

If you've ever seen a White House press conference, you probably have seen and heard longtime reporter Helen Thomas. Thomas is a bitter witch who has covered the White House since the Civil War. She has been a thorn in the side of every Republican president since Eisenhower. She doesn't ask questions but rather vents her political rantings in the form of a question.

But Ms. Thomas is hot under the collar this week after some comments she made to a reporter friend. Remember that reporters should at least give the appearance of being impartial even though that facade is wearing thin. Thomas has more than her share of trouble hiding her liberal, straight-

Democratic philosophy.

Thomas told a fellow reporter that she would kill herself if Vice President Dick Cheney ran for president. "All we need is one more liar," she added.

Well, those comments were included in a Washington newsletter and then added to the wildly-popular and highly-conservative Drudge Report. And now Helen is just a tad bit upset.

Helen Thomas, like dozens of others, is as partisan as they come. But there's a difference in being partisan in an editorial/opinion column and being partisan in a news story. Thomas knows no difference.

The truth is that Helen Thomas got caught with her opinions down and her bias is there for all to see. That doesn't please the longtime gadfly because all appearances of neutrality are now gone. Her written words will forever carry a stigma of bias, though anyone who has ever paid attention knew that was her style from the very beginning.

Dan Rather opened the floodgates of bias in the media and the American public now is more willing to read between the lines on national reporting. Helen Thomas was bias when Dan Rather was in diapers and now her phony reporting will be viewed for just what it is and has always been.

If a conservative reporter made the same comments about Hillary Clinton there would be calls for investigations and heads would roll. But Ms. Thomas will suffer no such fight.

If Helen Thomas ever had a day in the sun, those moments are long gone. She is a cranky dinosaur who craves the limelight. She uses her soapbox to disguise her liberal leanings as news. But when her guard is down, her true colors come shining. And just like the reporter herself, it's not pretty.