Longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas quits amid furor over her comments about Jews leaving Israel (video)

Thomas was certainly a pioneer for female political reporters, and according to her website (Helenthomas.com)

Thomas served as President of the Women's National Press Club in 1959 - 60, and she was the first woman officer of the National Press Club after it opened its doors to women members for the first time in 90 years. In addition, Thomas became the first woman officer of the White House Correspondents Association in its 50 years of existence, and served as its first woman president in 1975-76. Thomas also became the first woman member of the Gridiron Club in its history, and the first woman to be elected President in 1993.

In 1968 Thomas was named the "Newspaper Woman of Washington" by the American Newspaper Woman's Club, and in 1975, she was named the "Woman of the Year" in communications by Ladies Home Journal. She has also received the Matrix Award from the Women in Communications, and the World Almanac named Helen Thomas as one of the twenty-five most influential women in America.

Her most recent book, Listen Up, Mr. President (co-written with Craig Crawford) was published last fall.

Thomas was of Lebanese background, and was a strong critic of Israel's policies - nothing new there.  But her response to the question posed to her was crude and for a reporter, absolutely irresponsible.  No doubt Hearst told her it would be better for the corporation and for Thomas if she were to voluntarily "retire", rather than have the corporation terminate her, which they would have been under heavy pressure to do.

[image-1]Thomas was an equal opportunity hard -ass, whether it was Robert Gibbs, or Dana Perino, Scott McClellan, Ari Fleischer for the Bush administration.  But it was mostly conservatives who had major issues with her over the years, and questioned why she continued to be allowed to have the dominate front row seat while working for Hearst, not exactly the biggest media company of the moment.

She had been accused of being anti-Israel prior to this recent incident (the Daily Caller writes that she" has a history of hating Jews") , but was also a hero to others who claimed that the White House Press Corps in recent vintage has at times been nothing more than well coiffed stenographers, afraid to challenge power.  Thomas, whether it was a Democratic president or a Republican one, never feared asking too challenging a question.

Meanwhile, life goes on.  Politico reports that Thomas' seat could be taken up by either Bloomberg or Fox News.