Legendary
journalist Helen Thomas, veteran White House reporter, shares her stories
of Presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton—and her concerns
with the current President Bush.
Thomas served for 57 years as a correspondent and White House Bureau chief for United Press International. In November 1960, she began covering President-elect John F. Kennedy, following him to the White House. It was during this first White House assignment that she began closing presidential press conferences with "Thank you, Mr. President."
Thomas has covered Watergate, Iran-Contra, Whitewater and the impeachment of former President Clinton, as well as every other aspect of the White House and the Presidency since John Kennedy. A past president of the Women's National Press Club, Thomas was the first woman to serve as an officer of the National Press Club, the first female officer and president of the White House Correspondents Association and the first female member and president of the Gridiron Club. She was the only woman among journalists traveling with President Nixon during his breakthrough trip to China in 1972. Thomas recently published her memoirs in Front Row at the White House–My Life and Times (Scribner, 2000).