From getting cupcakes from President Obama on her birthday (which is also his birthday) to attending White House press conferences as the “Sitting Buddha” (she always sits in the front row), this year’s graduation speaker has a lot of stories to tell. Helen Thomas, a White House correspondent for the last sixty years, will give the commencement address at graduation June 14.Black & White reporter Claire Bartholomew interviewed Thomas over the phone.
Black & White: What sort of message do you want to send to the students?
Helen Thomas: That they can do anything they want to do, but they have to be patient, persistent and they have to care and have goals in life.
B&W: How do you think our generation will make a difference in the world?
HT: They have to stop the suffering in this world. They have to be for peace. They have to work for everyone to have medicine. They have to fight against greed and selfishness.
B&W: You began covering the White House around the time JFK came into office. How is the way the media interacts with the president different from back then?
HT: It was more exciting back then. Young people were in charge. Kennedy told all the young people in this country to make a contribution. You know, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. I think he left a great message. He told young people to give something back.
B&W: Your latest book, “Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do,” came out in October. What kind of message were you hoping to impart to your readers?
HT: I want the president to do the right thing: get us out of these wars. Stop the killing; stop the dying. Stop the unreasonable, incredible fallacy of a rotten foreign policy.
B&W: From years of asking questions, why is it important to dig for the truth?
HT: The question is the most important thing. Too many presidents lie. They don’t believe the American people can handle the truth, but they can. What’s most important is to be honest and have credibility. You can’t lead without people trusting you.
B&W: You’re the only member of the White House Press Corps to have your own chair. How did you get to this point in your career?
HT: Old age. Seniority. Respect.
B&W: What do you see as the main purpose of your job?
HT: To inform the people. You can’t have a democracy without an informed people. People have to know the truth, and they have to operate from the truth. That’s my job.
B&W: What’s your advice to young people who want to follow your career path?
HT: Go for it. Any profession where you always have to keep learning, and you’re always certainly helping the country— then you’ve made a great contribution.
