Helen Thomas (Sigh)

Helen Thomas needs to be booted from the White House Press Corps.

Now my boss here at the radio station (himself a former journalist) and I have differed over Bush's efforts to limit access to the White House before. (For instance moving certain reporters, like Thomas, to the rear, and booting others from the corps.) But take a look at the following transcript:

Q Does the President think that 120 people dying in Iraq,
after we're nearly three years into this war, is tolerable?

MR. McCLELLAN: The Iraqi people, Helen, have shown time and time again that they want to live in freedom. I think it's important to look at what took place in December. There are terrorists and Saddam loyalists -

Q Why are we there? Why are we killing people there?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- there are terrorists and Saddam loyalists --
because we're transforming the Middle East, and that will help us lay the foundations of peace for generations to come.

Q -- didn't ask you to do that, their country.

MR. McCLELLAN: We were attacked on September 11th and --

Q We were not
attacked by Iraqis.

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think we ever said we were.
But what we learned on that day was that this is not a law enforcement war we're engaged in. This is a war about the safety and security of the American people. It's not a law enforcement matter. It's a war. We are a nation at war. And this is a comprehensive effort that we're taking. We're not ignoring threats. We are confronting threats before it's too late. And that's what this President will --

Q You had none from Iraq.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- that's what this
President will continue to do because he knows his most important responsibility is protecting the American people. And spreading democracy in the broader Middle East is vital to our own nation's --

Q Don't do it by attacking an innocent country.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- vital to our own nation's security.
And the Iraqi people have shown they are deeply appreciative of the efforts that we have undertaken to remove a regime that was a threat and a destabilizing force in a dangerous region of the world. And we are going to change a troubled region for the better, and it will help lay the foundations of peace for generations to come.

That's not journalism. That's being argumentative and partisan. The exchange offered no new information, nor could it possibly have. The journalist (if you want to call her that) is spouting an opinion. She doesn't even have the common sense to spout it in the form of a question like her MSM collegues. All she did was waste her fellow journalist's time, since they, presumably, have real questions to ask, so as to actually inform their public.

A real journalist would ask a question such as:

Q On Iran -- well, they were follow-up, the other was follow-up -- when will the U.S. give up on diplomacy on Iran, and what other options are there?

is the Press Secretary going to want to answer that question? Of course not. But its at least a question.