Video: Dana Perino, Helen Thomas Spar Over Troops, Iraqis ‘Killed’

Ian Schwartz.com ^ | Nov 30, 2007 | Ian Schwartz

[RDTF]

Transcript:

HELEN THOMAS: Does the President want no troops out from Iraq on his watch? I’m talking about all the troops.

MS. PERINO: Well, 5,700 troops will be home by the end of the year, so that is some troops coming home. The President said that troop levels are going to be made by commanders on the ground, and that we’re going to have to talk about –

THOMAS: Why should it be? Why can’t the American people have a say?

MS. PERINO: — return on success. The American people have had a say. They elected a President who is their Commander-in-Chief and is making decisions based on what his commanders on the ground are telling him.

THOMAS: And you think that was the vote of the American people?

MS. PERINO: They elected a Commander-in-Chief, and the President is bringing home 5,700 troops, based on the recommendations of his commanders on the ground and based on return on success. Hopefully in the future we can bring home more, but it’s going to depend on what General Petraeus reports and remember he will come back in March.

THOMAS: Why should we depend on him?

MS. PERINO: Because he is the commander on the ground, Helen. He’s the one who is making sure that the situation is moving –

THOMAS: You mean how many more people we kill?

MS. PERINO: Helen, I find it really unfortunate that you use your front row position, bestowed upon you by your colleagues, to make such statements. This is a — it is an honor and a privilege to be in the briefing room, and to suggest that we, at the United States, are killing innocent people is just absurd and very offensive.

THOMAS: Do you know how many we have since the start of this war?

MS. PERINO: How many — we are going after the enemy, Helen. To the extent that any innocent Iraqis have been killed, we have expressed regret for it.

Q Oh, regret. It doesn’t bring back a life.

MS. PERINO: Helen, we are in a war zone, and our military works extremely hard to make sure that everyone has the opportunity for liberty and freedom and democracy, and that is exactly what they are doing.

I’m going to move on.

[RDTF]

[bubbacluck]

I’d be smiling, too. She sure has a lot of class.

[Theresawithanh]

Helen gets a pass because she’s, well, Helen Thomas. Ms. Perino handled this very well. Too bad they let her ask questions. I’d like to see them ignore the old twit.

[BibChr]

Looks like someone did.

[Andy from Beaverton]

Run Dick, run!

[LibWhacker]

Helen, I find it really unfortunate that you use your front row position, bestowed upon you by your colleagues, to make such statements.

For the life of me, I don't understand why the Administration tolerates these hateful bastards in the briefing room. Might as well bring in "reporters" from al Jazeera, Pravda and the Daily Worker. It's absurd. They should be forcefully thrown out of the room on their a**.

[Malone LaVeigh]

[Old Sarge]

I like how you think...

[OldEagle]

Thank you. Looks like she made a good impression on her honor guard.

[RDTF]

[SkyPilot]

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

[Anti-Bubba182]

She should! She gets the old lady allowance despite being an Arabist hack.

[SkyPilot]

By the way - Bill Clinton does not have a "Drinking man's face" as FBI Agent Gary Aldrich said he did.

No sir eeee Bob!

No nose candy here either!

[hdstmf]

Somebody needs to kick that old sow in the ass. Rhetorically. of course.

I recommend that kick be actual. Remember to wear hip boots because you will likely encounter some deep brown substance.

[RDTF]

gin blossom bubba

[Bahbah]

The lovely and intelligent Dana Perino continues to do an outstanding job for the President and for this country.

Thanks for posting this.

[Psycho_Bunny]

“Spar”? What was she doing? Being ugly and stupid at him?

[Just A Nobody]

I think she used it to make her new underware.

[Zack Nguyen]

MS. PERINO: Helen, I find it really unfortunate that you use your front row position, bestowed upon you by your colleagues, to make such statements. This is a — it is an honor and a privilege to be in the briefing room, and to suggest that we, at the United States, are killing innocent people is just absurd and very offensive.”

Well said. Let's be frank: Helen Thomas is old, and has been a "journalist" for a long time, so she gets a pass in much the same way that a baby gets a pass for behaving crudely.

It's time to get over that with Helen Thomas. She knows exactly what she's doing. She is not a journalist, she is an advocate. She does not view press conferences as a chance to ask questions, but rather to make speeches and get her point across. She abuses the privilege of attending White House press conferences. It isn't funny anymore. It's ridiculous and an abuse of status.

Helen Thomas should have her credentials yanked, and be barred from entering the White house.

[tioga]

-we could just put it out on the internet that she named her teddy bear Mohammad. Ya never know.