Obama calls long-time journalist's comments 'offensive,' but praises career

Obama calls long-time journalist's comments 'offensive,' but praises career

By Jordan Fabian - 06/08/10 09:43 AM ET

[link to thehill.com]

Controversial comments made by the dean of the White House press corps, Helen Thomas, were "offensive," but at the same time she had a remarkable career, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.

During an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Obama criticized Thomas's remark that Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and move back to Germany and Poland, but did not go so far as to say they will taint her five-decade career, which ended abruptly on Monday when she announced her retirement.

"Well, her comments were offensive," he said. "It is a shame, because Helen's someone who has been a correspondent through I don't know how many presidents — was a real institution in Washington. But I think she made the right decision."

Thomas's remarks touched off a controversy last week and she came under pressure to quit her job as a Hearst Newspapers columnist.