THIS JUST IN – AT 9:40 A.M. ET:  White House reporter Helen Thomas has issued an apology for demanding that Jews get out of Palestine and go back to Poland and Germany.  She now says she wishes for mutual respect in the Middle East.  Boy, am I glad that misunderstanding is over.

I'm always amused when public figures say something ugly and then "apologize."  Does the apology mean that hellish Helen actually hadn't meant what she'd originally said?  Of course not.  She meant it.  It's just that she got caught at it.  Hence, the "apology."

Given the standards in journalism, the incident will quickly be shoved under the rug by other news people, the better to prop up their beloved Helen.  President Obama will no doubt call on her at his next press conference, in 2014. 

But we know what she believes, and I suspect that her belief is far more widespread in the media, especially the European media, than we'd like to think.

June 5, 2010