Salon.com Equates Helen Thomas to Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity; Blames Departure on Sexism, Ageism

It's hard to imagine a scenario where one would be sympathetic toward former "dean of the White House press corps" Helen Thomas following her videotaped remarks that Israeli Jews "should get the hell out of Palestine" and go back to Germany or Poland.

However, in a June 7 column on Salon.com, Anna Clark wrote that Thomas deserved leeway, since some talk radio personalities say "controversial, even despicable comments," but manage to keep their jobs.

"I don't like how Thomas voiced her opinions in this video; it was sloppy and hurtful," Clark wrote. "But her views aren't exactly news; the gist of them are evident from her past columns. Meanwhile, Thomas joins a long line of opinion-makers who have uttered controversial, even despicable comments. Rush Limbaugh, anyone? Glenn Beck? Howard Stern? Sean Hannity?"

Beside the fact the neither Limbaugh, Beck, Stern nor Hannity have been designated the "dean" of the White House press corps, or even have access to the White House briefing room, Clark continued her screed and pinpointed two other contributing factors beyond Thomas' anti-Semitic remarks - ageism and sexism.

"None of these voices seem to fear a forced retirement," Clark continued. "What's different about Thomas? For one, she's old. For two, she's a woman. And while I won't pretend this is a simple scenario where ageism and sexism are wholly to blame, it's hard to imagine that they aren't factors at all."

Clark's takeaway - her hero, Helen Thomas is living proof that heroes are fallible, despite a long history of far-left ideology and outbursts.

"Now, I'm afraid that this is the legacy Thomas will be left with: Because she wasn't perfect, she was terrible," Clark wrote. "In fact, of course, Thomas is neither perfect nor terrible. What she represents is that uncomfortable reminder that our heroes are not infallible. They are not everything we want them to be, no matter how much we pretend otherwise. Our heroes will disappoint, sometimes egregiously."