President Bush today again avoided taking a question from White House doyenne Helen Thomas during his 45-minute press conference, even though he took questions from every reporter around her front-row, center seat.

"He's a coward," Thomas said afterward. "He's supposed to be this macho guy. He'll take on Osama bin Laden, but he won't take me on."

Helen Thomas has really been screwed over by this administration and beleive me- the press corps has noticed. If someone as well-respected as Thomas can be treated this way, no one in the press is safe to ask tough questions.

Speaking of Bush and press conferences...