18th Annual
Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Fresh Visions, Old Realities, New Possibilities:
The Impact of Leadership Change on Arab-U.S. Relations

Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center, Washington, DC
October 15-16, 2009

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    •  'HOW' QUESTIONS FOR ARAB-U.S. POLICYMAKERS
    •  CONFERENCE AUDIO & TRANSCRIPTS

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR PIONEERING EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM
Presented to: Ms. Helen Thomas

Introduction and Commentary by: Mr. Craig Crawford

Ms. Helen Thomas is the dean of the White House press corps. As a White House correspondent, first for United Press International and now for Hearst News Service, Ms. Thomas has covered every U.S. President since John F. Kennedy. Ms. Thomas was the first woman officer of the National Press Club, the first woman officer and later first woman president of the White House Correspondents Association, and the first woman officer and later first woman president of the Gridiron Club. Thomas is the author of Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public; Thanks for the Memories, Mr. President: Wit and Wisdom from the Front Row at the White House; Front Row at the White House: My Life and Times; andDateline: White House. Her latest book, with co-author Craig Crawford, is Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do.

Mr. Craig Crawford blogs daily at CQPolitics.com, and his writings appear regularly in newspapers and Web sites throughout the country. A contributing news analyst for MSNBC, he is often featured on a variety of national television and radio programs, such as MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" andWABC's "Imus in the Morning." Before joining Congressional Quarterly in 2003, Mr. Crawford was Editor-in-Chief ofThe Hotline, an online news digest. Mr. Crawford is the author of Attack the Messenger, The Politics of Life, and, most recently, Listen Up, Mr. President, co-authored with Ms. Helen Thomas.