July 14, 2008 4:07 PM
Tony Snow, R.I.P.
Who could not like Tony Snow? He was one of the most warm, engaging news commentators ever. When - after successfully beating colon cancer - he took a cut in pay to work accept the position as the White House Press Secretary, I was hoping we might see a kinder, gentler side of the brutal Washington press corps. That really didn't come to pass.
What did come to pass was a new kind of briefing where the press could not bully the press secretary. Which made a lot of viewers who'd been talking back to the press on the other side of their TV screens suddenly feel a lot better about the daily ordeals. As reported by Fox:
At the White House, Snow brought partisan zeal and the skills of a seasoned performer to the task of explaining and defending the president's policies. During daily briefings he challenged reporters, scolded them and questioned their motives as if he were starring in a TV show broadcast live from the West Wing.
What also, unfortunately, came to pass was a return of Tony Snow's cancer, which he announced March 27th. He died July 12, barely 100 days later. He was only 53.
Here is what the Family Research Council wrote:
"In Washington one meets a handful of people who are almost universally liked and respected. So much is at stake in the partisan battles in the capital that having the admiration of political friend and foe alike is unusual.Tim Russert achieved that and so did Tony Snow.
Tony spoke at the FRC Action Values Voter Summit in 2006 and described with relish his experience at the White House with a mix of professionalism and amazement that was endearing and all-American.
He knew, appreciated, and communicated how lucky he was to have been born in the U.S. of A., grown up in the Midwest, and been given a chance to work in hallways and places he had dreamed of as a kid.
That youthfulness, and the bedrock values that fueled him, never faded, whether at the peak of his success or in the throes of his illness. The proximity of those two things, the peak and the throes coming at once, and the way he handled both with wit and verve only underscored how grounded he was.
He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
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