Tony Snow Dead at Age 53
 

From: Fox News

Tony Snow, Former White House Press Secretary and FOX News Anchor, Dies at 53

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AP Photo

Tony Snow, the former White House press secretary and conservative pundit who bedeviled the press corps and charmed millions as a FOX News television and radio host, has died after a long bout with cancer. He was 53.

A syndicated columnist, editor, TV anchor, radio show host and musician, Snow worked in nearly every medium in a career that spanned more than 30 years.

Snow joined FOX in 1996 as the original anchor of FOX News Sunday, and hosted Weekend Live and a radio program, The Tony Snow Show, before departing in 2006. A sometime fill-in host for Rush Limbaugh, Snow said he loved the intimacy of his radio audience.

"It's a tremendous loss for us who knew him, but it's also a loss for the country," Roger Ailes, Chairman of FOX News, said Saturday morning about Snow, calling him a "renaissance man."

As a TV pundit and commentator for FOX News, Snow was often critical of President Bush before he became Bush's third press secretary in 2006, following Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan. He was an instant study in the job, mastering the position — and the White House press corps — with apparent ease.

During a tenure marked by friendly jousting with journalists, Snow often danced around the press corps, occasionally correcting their grammar and speech even as he responded to their questions.

"Tony did his job with more flair than almost any press secretary before him," said William McGurn, Bush's former chief speechwriter. "He loved the give-and-take. But that was possible only because Tony was a man of substance, who had real beliefs and principles that he was more than able to defend."

As he announced Snow as his new press secretary in 2006, President Bush praised him as "a man of courage [and] a man of integrity." Snow presided over some of the toughest fights of Bush's presidency, defending the administration during the Iraq War and the CIA leak investigation.

Robert Anthony Snow was born June 1, 1955, in Berea, Ky., the son of a teacher and nurse. He graduated from Davidson College in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, and he taught briefly in Kenya before embarking on his career as a journalist.

Because of his love for writing, Snow took a job as an editorial writer for the Greensboro Record in North Carolina, and went on to run the editorial pages at the Newport News (Virginia) Daily Press, Detroit News and Washington Times. He became a nationally syndicated columnist, and in 1991 he became director of speechwriting for President George H.W. Bush.

Snow had his colon removed and underwent six months of chemotherapy after he was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005. In 2007, he announced that his cancer had recurred and had spread to his liver. He resigned from the White House weeks later and was replaced by his deputy, Dana Perino.

After taking time off to recuperate, Snow joined CNN as a conservative political correspondent early this year.
Snow is survived by his wife, Jill, their son Robbie and their daughters Kendell and Christie.

Everybody, if you're over 50 (or your parents), it's very important to have your colonoscopy. I had one last winter and it wasn't nearly as awful as I had anticipated.

^^

I agree, in fact if there is a history of colon cancer in you family, it is probably best that you start at 45. The test is not nearly as bad as you may think it is and it can save your life.

As to Snow, it goes without saying that I differ from him ideologically but to his credit he never came across as being mean-spirited the way others from Fox or the administration do. At least he was competent which is more than I can say for the rest of that crowd. And he was very courageous in the last few years of his life, a strong advocate for getting tested.

Rest in Peace.

^Yeah he was definitely an intelligent and likable guy and for all the faults of the administration he made the best of it. His job wasn't a glorious one given the failures in communication between the government and the media but he did his job well.

Meaning he was a good story teller who bent the truth in order to satisfy his bosses and thus keep his employment http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...s/confused.png

Paid for by our tax dollars ...

All excused because he was a nice guy http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...s/confused.png http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...s/confused.png

Lofter, have you no heart? The man just died of cancer at 53.

You don't have to praise the man, but the above makes you no better than the bloggers who gloated when Ted Kennedy announced he had cancer, (and will no doubt spit on his grave once he passes). I'm sure you're better than that.

This two-way partisan hatred is a cancer in and of itself. And it sure as hell isn't healthy for the soul, whether right wing or left.

And how healthy for the soul is it to stand before the American people and lie to our faces?

Interesting that partisan behavior is equated to a cancer, given the reference point.

Anyone who wishes to do so can praise the man for being a so-called nice human being.

But don't white-wash his actions as a paid-for administration mouthpiece.

To read things like "he made the best of it" is too much.

Meaning what? He earned lots of big money, smiled & joked while spewing falsehoods?

It seems the heartless one might be the person who told stories while 4,000 Americans died for lies.

R.I.P., Tony. You brought some civility to the great debate. Good on you sir.

Steven

He was a Press Secretary - his job was to keep calm and pass information given to him by the president to the press - that's it. What would you have him do exactly? Become a whistle blower over things that he probably was never informed about? This isn't a case of a Secretary of X openly lying about something, Tony Snow was given information and was supposed to stick to them, not throw in his opinions or do investigative reporting.

How do you know what "lying" is anyway? Just because there's a Times reporter throwing out accusations doesn't mean they're true.

Like I said, he made the best of it, he elaborated on the official statements as much as possible and was consistent in his professionalism. I'm not sure what else goes into evaluation how well a Press Secretary did his/her job.

I did not like the guy, what he said, wrote or stood for.

But I still did not wish cancer on him or his death.

I agree with Lofter 100% in regards to his professional life and the ludicracy of somehow forgiving him his job because he died. He lied. He was given a position, with limited information about the situation, and told to tell a story. He was never accused of being stupid. He knew basically what was going on.

Somehow a guy that makes a funny face when asked a difficult question as to imply by facial invocation that it bears no weight does not make him a kind funny fellow.




But, again. He did not "deserve" this. I saw him and what the treatments did to him. Very VERY few ever deserve something as trying as that, and dispite my dislike for him, his job, and what he stood for, I feel bad for him and his family for this loss.... http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/frown.png

It is a delicate balance. Bascially the press secretary is a press agent of sorts, someone who gets the white house message out, and takes care of the press room logistics. He is not policy formulator. The most important think you can ask is that he be credible with the white house press, and not hold back on the truth, and I think he accomplished that. I am not aware of any instance where he was accused of lying. Indeed, in several cases where he misspoke, my recollection is that he went out of his way to correct the record.

It goes without saying that I disagree with his politics. But I thought he did a good job, certainly better than his Bush predecessors and successor.

Yeah, I was just going to say, what did he lie about? Can you be specific? I don't remember him ever being accused of lying. Nor do I think he knowingly would. He struck me as a good man. Very down to earth. Certainly not caught up in Washington. It wasn't a career he had any ambition for. He certainly wasn't pursuing it. He had a very successful broadcast career and took a big pay cut to join the White House. And he didn't even care to stay much longer than a year and a half.

It is hard to say what specifics he would be lying about, because nobody in the "company" has said specifically what he knew and what he did not know.

But if you are a professional, as he was, and your boss has been accused of being in error about many MANY things, you cannot tell me that you would not poke your nose in here and there and find out thnigs on your own.

"Officially" he would be told nothing more than what we heard, but not all thnigs are said in e-mails, letters, conferences or even on the phone.

I think what this administration did was stupid, but conversely, I never accused them of being stupid.

Oh I see. You must be in the "Bush lied us into war" camp. Sorry, but I just don't see that. I think the people who accuse Bush of lying are lying.

^^
How is that relevant??

eh: don't encourage it http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/cool.png

With all the air time the TV is giving to Mr. Snow's memorial service today one would be hard pressed to know that Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, who saved tens of thousands of lives and developed medical precedures which will save untold numbers in the future, died the day before Mr. Snow passed on and was memorialized yesterday.

May they both rest in peace.

Well he's saying Snow was lying for the administration and the big lie is alleged to be that the administration lied about Iraq.

The original job description of a WH press secretary can be regarded as a reporter with ultimate access. He distributed information to the reporter pool, but was still a reporter himself.

Over the years, the job has been distorted into a glorified public relations tool.

Snow was not in the administration when the decision was made to invade iraq, and the administration did lie about the justification for going to war.

From this point on, I believe I will follow Lofter's advise and resist from further commentary.