Helen Thomas has covered the administrations of ten presidents in a career spanning nearly sixty years. She is known for her famous press conference closing line, "Thank you, Mr. President," but her most recent book she trades deference for directness. Thomas holds nothing back in "Listen Up, Mr. President," a witty, history-rich lesson plan of what it takes to be a good president. Combining sharp observation and dozens of examples from the first presidency through the forty-fourth, the book outlines the qualities, attitudes, and political and personal choices that make for the most successful leaders, and the least. Calvin Coolidge, who hired the first professional speechwriter in the White House, illuminates the importance of choosing words wisely. William Howard Taft, notorious for being so fat he broke his White House bathtub, shows how not to cultivate a strong public image. John F. Kennedy, who could handle the press corps and their questions with aplomb, shows how to establish a rapport with the press and open oneself up to the public. Ronald Reagan, who acknowledged the Iran-Contra affair in a television address, demonstrates how telling hard truths can earn forgiveness and even public trust. By gleaning lessons from past leaders, "Listen Up" not only highlights those that future presidents should follow but also pinpoint what Americans should look for and expect in their president. Part history lesson, part presidential primer, "Listen Up, Mr. President" is smart, entertaining, and exceedingly edifying.
Watchdogs of Democracy?The legendary journalist and bestselling author, Helen Thomas, delivers a hard-hitting manifesto on the precipitous decline in the quality and ethics of political reportage—and issues a clarion call for change. In the course of more than sixty years spent covering Washington politics, Helen Thomas has witnessed firsthand a raft of fundamental changes in the way news is gathered and reported. Gone are the days of flying in Air Force One with JFK, as she once did. Now, Thomas sees a growing—and alarming—reluctance among reporters to question the government and probe for the truth. The result has been a wholesale failure by journalists to fulfill what is arguably their most vital role in contemporary American life—to be the watchdogs of democracy. Today’s journalists, to hear Thomas tell it, have become subdued, compromised lapdogs. Watchdogs of Democracy? provides readers with rich historical perspective on the roots of American journalism, the circumstances attending the rise and fall of its golden age, and the nature and consequences of its current lapses. Drawing on her peerless knowledge of Washington politics, as well as frank interviews with leading journalists past and present, Thomas delivers a powerful discourse on the state of political reportage—as well as a welcome and inspiring demand for meaningful and lasting reform.
http://helenthomas.org/
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