Conservation Corner: August 28, 2000

Helen Thomas - The Queen Of The Press
by James L. Cummins

As a guest of Mr. and Mrs. Arch Dalrymple of Amory, I recently had the opportunity to have dinner with the famed Helen Thomas of the White House Press Corp. Afterwards, she gave a lecture at the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly which was sponsored by the Wallace Lecture Fund and the Patterson Lecture Fund.

At dinner, I had the opportunity to talk to her about Mississippians - Larry Speakes, who was President Reagan's Press Secretary, Senator James O. Eastland, Senator John Stennis and Senator Thad Cochran. Ms. Thomas referred to Senator Cochran as "brilliant." I agree.

I know you thought this was a column on conservation, so I will have to include at least a little bit.

Probably the closest thing to that is when she autographed her book for me and it said "...with great admiration for what you do." She told me a story of when President Nixon came into the White House Press Room and stated that it was only coincidental that when he started talking about pollution and the press walks in.

Let me share with you a few of Ms. Thomas's stories.

Her favorite president, Kennedy, once told her that he was "reading more and enjoying it less." Ms. Thomas remembered asking President Kennedy a hard question and she said he kept talking hoping to hit on the answer. After the allotted time was up, Ms. Thomas said the famous "Thank you Mr. President." President Kennedy replied, "No, thank you Helen."

Ms. Thomas discussed her trip to Plains, Georgia, to cover Jimmy Carter. "Little did I know that I was going to cover a Baptist Sunday School Teacher," said Thomas. "There was a bouncer by the door who would not let me see Carter. I tried to convince him that I was no lady, I was a reporter!"

According to Ms. Thomas, "President Carter's mother was being questioned by a French reporter on exactly what she meant when she said her son wouldn't lie. She was very aggravated by this question and told the reporter that "he might tell a little white lie." The reporter asked what she meant by a 'little white lie' and Mrs. Carter replied, 'You remember when you came through the door and I said how nice you looked,' that's a little white lie!"

President Reagan once tried to leave a press conference early and Ms. Thomas replied "Five more minutes man, keep talking!"

At one time, President Bush said that he believed in freedom of the press. He later told her that he now believes in "freedom from the press."

More recently, Ms. Thomas questioned President Clinton's press secretary, about Monnica Lewinski and he replied, "Some things you just can't quite explain."

At the end of the 45-minute lecture, she took questions. Someone in the audience asked her "In Watergate, who was deep throat?"

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi.