Helen Thomas, National Treasure

Courtesy of The 18½ Minute Gap, is a transcript of G.W. Bush's press secretary trying very very hard not to answer a simple yes/no/I-don't-know question about the president's alleged military service record. The transcript doesn't identify who the various reporters posing questions were (they're all listed as "Q"), but even if McClellan hadn't addressed the main questioner as "Helen", I would've guessed that this was Helen Thomas in action.

Way back before I was born, Helen Thomas was important for simply being a woman assigned to cover the White House. In the meantime, she became important for being such a fixture there (and following every president since Kennedy on trips abroad), probably making her the most-recognised journalist (not counting anchors and weather reporters) in the world. And finally she's distinguished herself for standing up to yet another president and demanding the respect - and answers - she deserves... even though this has led to her banishment (by the most cowardly president of our age) from the front row to the back of the room during his rare appearances in the briefing room.

The issue she was asking about - whether the president was ever required to take time out from his duties in the Guard to perform community service - is important, but the how and why of that is self-evident. The value of Helen Thomas is probably self-evident as well, but I wanted to mention it anyway while I was thinking about it.