A Star Is Reborn

Yesterday I noted some of the upside for President Bush that is a likely result of his confrontation with harsh media critic Helen Thomas at the White House press conference. Something I failed to mention – the upside for Helen Thomas. A longtime fixture of the White House press corps, Thomas has lost a little of her public exposure over the past several years, partly because she no longer works daily for the UPI wire and partly because she's been shunned by this White House.

Suddenly yesterday, she was everywhere – her question replayed countless times on TV news (including the CBS "Evening News"), described in newspaper articles and chatted about in the blogosphere. Thomas appeared on at least one cable news program and she's currently vaulted into the number five most searched terms on Technorati. So while the exchange may have given Mr. Bush an opportunity to get his message out, the criticism got just as much play. Advantage … who?