Helen Thomas doesn't do deference

Shopgirlove has always had a soft spot for this feisty throwback from a time when reporters cared more about uncovering the truth than about currying favor. A time when those in power actually cared about selling their message. Not even Nixon had the arrogance to ignore Helen Thomas.
Then came George W. Bush. The tone of his administration was set early on during the 2000 campaign with a hot mike comment regarding a certain NYT's journalist. "A major league a**hole." His partner in crime's response? "Big time."
Bush soon began to subvert the traditions of every President before him starting with John F. Kennedy. Ah well, he is the decider...
But things get Orwellian with the recent redesign of the briefing room at the White House. Ms. Thomas' seat, which she has occupied for almost fifty years, has lost a row. No longer front and center, "the First Lady of the Press" will be demoted to the second row.
The Leader of the Free World is scared of an eighty-seven year old woman.