海倫?托馬斯：折磨總統的新聞先鋒

海倫·托馬斯，一個令美國總統聞之色變、令同行肅然起敬的名字。在總統新聞發布會上，她常常從白宮新聞發布廳第一排的中央起身提問，尖銳的問題直指總統們的軟肋。她對總統們執著發問、步步緊逼、毫不留情，因此獲得了“總統折磨者”的稱號。從肯尼迪到奧巴馬，她“折磨”了十位美國總統。2013年7月20日，這位“新聞界的第一夫人”因病逝世。她的犀利、勇氣、開拓精神與敬業精神已經成為美國新聞業的一面旗幟，也是新聞領域一座可望而不可即的高峰。

Helen Thomas， a wire service correspondent and columnist whose sharp questions from the front row of the White House press room challenged and annoyed 10 presidents and who was effective in divulging3） information that federal officials tried to keep secret， died July 20 at her home in Washington. She was 92.

Unintimidated by presidents or press secretaries， Ms. Thomas was known as the dean of the White House press corps4） for her longevity in the beat5）. She reported for the United Press International for almost 60 years.

Among the most-recognized reporters in America， Ms. Thomas was a short， dark-eyed woman with a gravelly6） voice who， for many years， rose from her front-row seat at presidential news conferences to ask the first or second question. For nearly 30 years， she closed the sessions with a no-nonsense7） “Thank you， Mr. President.”

“Helen was a true pioneer， opening doors and breaking down barriers for generations of women in journalism，” President Obama said in a statement. “She covered every White House since President Kennedy’s， and during that time she never failed to keep presidents—myself included—on their toes8）.”

Ms. Thomas’s pointed queries often agitated the powerful， but she was also lauded9） for posing questions “almost like a housewife in Des Moines10） would ask，” a colleague once said. She asked President Richard M. Nixon point-blank what his secret plan to end the Vietnam War was， and she asked President Ronald Reagan what right the United States had to invade Grenada11） in 1983.

When President George H. W. Bush announced that the defense budget would remain the same after the collapse of the Soviet Union， the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disappearance of communism in Europe， she succinctly12） asked， “Who’s the enemy？”

“I respect the office of the presidency，” she told Ann McFeatters for a 2006 profile in Ms. magazine， “but I never worship at the shrines of our public servants. They owe us the truth.”

Ms. Thomas had a number of scoops13）， including her exclusive interviews with Martha Mitchell， which helped expose some aspects of the Watergate scandal. Mitchell， the wife of Attorney General John Mitchell， told Thomas in late-night phone calls that she had seen a Nixon campaign strategy book that included plans for Watergate-style operations. Thomas also broke the story that Nixon’s speechwriters were working on a resignation address that he would give the next day.

Her strength was her indefatigable pursuit of hard news14）， the bread-and-butter staple of the wire services. She arrived at work every morning before dawn and accompanied presidents on overseas trips. She was the only female print reporter to accompany Nixon on his historic visit to China， and later， in her 70s and 80s， she often outdistanced15） younger reporters on arduous16） around-the-world travels.

In 2000， she quit UPI and became a columnist for the Hearst News Service， a job she retired from in 2010 after she told a rabbi that Jewish settlers should “get the hell out of Palestine” and go back to “Poland， Germany， America and everywhere else.”

She apologized， but White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denounced her comments as “offensive and reprehensible17）.” The White House Correspondents’ Association issued a rare admonishment， calling her statements “indefensible18）.”

The remarks ignited a controversy that had been simmering19） for years. The daughter of Lebanese immigrants， Ms. Thomas routinely questioned White House officials over US policies toward Israel and the Middle East， which led some to complain she was too sympathetic to Palestinian and Arab viewpoints.

Ms. Thomas was clear about her antipathy to secretive government and her belief that the George W. Bush administration disregarded well-established law. In 2003， she told another reporter that she was covering “the worst president in American history.” The remark was quoted， and Bush， who was not amused， froze her out20）. She apologized in writing， and he accepted her regrets but did not call on her at his news conferences for the next three years.

When he finally did， she immediately fired off a classic Thomas question：

“I’d like to ask you， Mr. President. Your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis， wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given， publicly at least， has turned out not to be true. My question is： Why did you really want to go to war？ From the moment you stepped into the White House， what was your real reason？ You have said it wasn’t oil—quest for oil—it hasn’t been Israel or anything else. What was it？”

Ms. Thomas publicly criticized her colleagues in the press and broadcast media for failing to ask the hard questions of the Bush administration， but she saved her toughest criticisms for elected officials.

“We are the only institution in our society that can question a president on a regular basis and make him accountable，” she told author Kay Mills for a 1996 Modern Maturity magazine article. “Otherwise， he could be king.”

High school journalist

Helen Amelia Thomas was born Aug. 4， 1920， in Winchester， Ky.， one of nine children of immigrants from present-day Lebanon. A few years after her birth， the family moved to Detroit， where her father ran a grocery store in a neighborhood that was home to people of Italian， African， German and Arab ancestry.

She found her career while working on her high school newspaper， then studied journalism at what is now Wayne State University. She paid for her education by working in the college library and helping out at her brother’s gas station.

In 1960， she was assigned to report on the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy. When Kennedy won the election， there was suddenly a huge demand for stories about his glamorous wife， Jacqueline.

Ms. Thomas interviewed hairdressers， clerks at clothing stores， caterers， pianists who played at the family’s parties and even the owner of the diaper service. She and Lewine staked out21） the hospital when John Kennedy Jr. was born and were such a frequent presence in Jacqueline Kennedy’s life that the first lady began calling them “the harpies22）” and complained to the Secret Service that “two strange Spanish-looking women” were stalking her.

Over the next decade， Ms. Thomas began reporting harder news， still finding the unusual and juicy tidbit23）. President Lyndon B. Johnson was furious when he learned through Ms. Thomas’s UPI report that his daughter Luci was engaged.

“You announced Luci’s engagement， you announced Luci’s marriage， you announced when Luci was going to have a baby， and I resented it，” he once told her. But in those more informal times， he also invited her to lunch in the family quarters of the White House.

In 1970， her longtime mentor， Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Merriman Smith， committed suicide. Ms. Thomas was named UPI’s senior White House correspondent， the first woman to hold that post.

Few knew at the time that she was dating journalist Douglas B. Cornell， who also covered the White House for the rival Associated Press newswire. Cornell， 17 years her senior， was retiring in 1971， and Nixon gave him a going-away party. In the midst of the ceremony， first lady Pat Nixon grabbed the microphone and announced the Thomas-Cornell engagement. “At last，” the first lady said， “I’ve scooped Helen Thomas.”

Ms. Thomas was named UPI’s White House bureau chief in 1974， and Nixon noted that hallmark at a news conference.

“So after he had been so gracious， he pointed to me for the first question，” she wrote in her White House memoir. “‘Mr. President，’ I said， ‘Mr. Haldeman， your former top aide in the White House， has been charged with perjury24） because he testified you said it would be wrong to pay hush money25） to silence the Watergate defendants.’”

She continued， in Front Row at the White House： “It’s like I say to young people who ask me about going into journalism： If you want to be loved， don’t go into this business.”

Sharp-edged humor

Known for her quick wit， Ms. Thomas didn’t hesitate to exercise it on presidents. When a set of fortune-telling scales once spewed26） out a card for Gerald Ford saying， “You are a brilliant leader，” she glanced at the card and cracked， “It got your weight wrong， too.”

In the 1980s， after the official planting of a Lebanon cedar tree on the South Lawn of the White House， fellow reporters urged Ms. Thomas， a Lebanese American， to pick up the ceremonial shovel and toss some dirt into the hole to cover the roots.

“And as she shoveled，” ABC News broadcaster Sam Donaldson later said， “I heard the ghosts of presidents past and present say， ‘Shove her in.’”

Ms. Thomas was president of the Women’s National Press Club in 1959 and was named one of the “25 Most Influential Women in America” by the World Almanac in 1976. In 1998， she was the first recipient of a prize established in her name by the White House Correspondents’ Association—the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1984， when she received the National Press Club’s Fourth Estate27） Award， Reagan told Ms. Thomas： “You are not only a fine and respected professional； you have also become an important part of the American presidency.”

Although she identified herself as a political liberal， Ms. Thomas did not hesitate to criticize the Democratic administration of President Obama， even after he presented her with cupcakes on Aug. 4， 2009， their shared birthday. She once told CNSNews.com that not even Nixon attempted to control the news media the way Obama’s administration tried to do.

“What the hell do they think we are—puppets？” Ms. Thomas asked. “They’re supposed to stay out of our business. They are our public servants. We pay them.”

海倫·托馬斯于7月20日在華盛頓家中逝世，享年92歲。作為一位通訊社記者和專欄作家，她坐在白宮新聞發布廳的前排，向總統提出尖銳的問題。她一生向十位總統發過難，讓他們感到惱火；而對于聯邦官員試圖守口如瓶的消息，她也有辦法揭露出來。

托馬斯女士對總統或新聞秘書毫無畏懼。由于她在這一行當的資深經歷，她成為白宮記者團的團長，為合眾國際社報道了將近60年。

作為美國最為知名的記者之一，托馬斯女士是一位身材矮小、黑眼睛、聲音粗啞的女性。多年以來，在總統新聞發布會上，她都會從最前排的座位起身，第一個或第二個進行提問。將近30年來，每次發布會都是以她直截了當的一句“謝謝您，總統先生”結束。

“海倫是一位真正的開拓者，她為一代又一代從事新聞業的女性打開了大門，破除了障礙，”奧巴馬總統在一份聲明中稱，“她報道過自肯尼迪總統以來的每一屆白宮政府。……