Tony’s New Job
Bush announced that Tony Snow will be his new press secretary:
President Bush announced his new White House press secretary on Wednesday: former Fox News host Tony Snow.“As a professional journalist, Tony Snow understands the importance of the relationship between government and those whose job it is to cover the government,” Bush said during a White House appearance.
Snow replaces Scott McClellan, who announced last week he would step down during a West Wing makeover by Josh Bolten, the new White House chief of staff.
Snow, 50, was a weekend news anchor and political analyst for the Fox News Channel, which he joined in 1996. He also hosted “The Tony Snow Show” on Fox News Radio.
Some quick thoughts:
1.) I have no idea what would motivate ANYONE to be the WH press secretary for ANY administration.
2.) Why anyone would want to be the press secretary for THIS administration makes even less sense.
3.) I would have chosen someone who was not affiliated with Fox news, for the obvious reasons.
4.) I haven’t seen anyone do it yet, but I am sure by this time next week I will be ready to slug people who use the phrase ‘snow job’ and think they are being clever.
That having been said, Tony Snow didn’t seem like a crazy person on the news shows I have seen him do, but I have heard him be occassionally hacktacular on his own show. I guess we will find out and see which Tony Snow we get.
DougJ
I’m sure it’s a coincidence that they announced this the same day Rove goes before the grand jury again.
Edmund Dantes
You really have been swamped then John. Snow-job is well underway to being overused.
fwiffo
Do you mean you haven’t seen “snow job” yet, or you haven’t seen a slugging as the result of the use of “snow job?” I’ve heard it enough to know that such a slugging is already overdue. The jokes about it being a just a lateral move or title change are better, but already overdone.
This is the funniest bit I’ve seen on it so far.
Steve
I’ve never watched Snow, but his written work has struck me as intelligent. He seems like a good, smart conservative to me – surely a better conservative than George W. Bush. I think Andrew Sullivan had the right take:
I’m a bleeding heart myself, but I’d take honest conservatism any day over this irresponsible mishmosh of an administration.
ppGaz
Steve, ditto.
Pb
no business like Snow business…
Marcus Wellby
Any word on who the White House chose to fill Tony Snow’s job over at Fox?
Perry Como
A Speak & Spell.
The Other Steve
They want to fix their perception as being right leaning.
They are in negotiations with Rosie O’Donnell
docG
Wikipedia entry for the G. W. Bush administration and Tony Snow, circa 2065:
When the bullshit soured, and was no longer being bought by anyone, the response was not to alter the bullshit, but to hire a better bullshit salesman. The shit still stunk and was still not purchased in bulk. (Curiously, according to recently declassified documents, someone named Darrell [no last name] made regular bullshit purchases from the White House until late 2007.)
Krista
2.) Why anyone would want to be the press secretary for THIS administration makes even less sense.
No kidding. You couldn’t pay me enough to do it. (Well, yeah…I could maybe do it for a week before wanting to stab someone). Although, if you can handle it, it makes any future PR jobs look like a breezy day in the park with puppies and butterflies.
fwiffo
I can’t tell if this is a joke or not.
I can’t tell if this is funny or not.
Pb
I’ll tell you what, if Rosie O’Donnell was the Press Secretary, I wouldn’t want to mess with her. Then again, you might do better to hire Horatio Sanz in a dress.
tBone
“As a professional journalist, Tony Snow understands the importance of the relationship between government and those whose job it is to cover the government,” Bush said during a White House appearance.
Snow followed up the President’s remarks by performing “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” with members of the Three 6 Mafia in the Rose Garden.
Krista
There. That’s better.
LITBMueller
Should I assume, then, John, that “Snowed in,” “Snowed under,” and “yellow Snow” are also on your shit list? ;)
Indeed. Will we get the Tony Snow that wears glasses to look smarter, or not?
Mr Furious
I just listened to John Dickerson (of Slate) on NPR in the car and he had a couple good points:
1. It’s hard to say “no” when the President offers you a spot on the team.
2. There’s something noble/heroic about running into a burning building.
3. Snow might actually feel he can help the Presiden, and has no doubt equipped himself with better power than his predecessors to do so.
Mr Furious
Oh, absolutely Tony “Glasses” Snow.
Glasses are an invaluable prop, especially if you don’t really need them. They can be taken on and off for emphasis. Used as an effective “jab enhancer”—gesturing to a pesky reporter after taking off your glasses and holding them in your hand is always effective…
You can stall and adjust glasses when you’re uncomfortable/on the spot…
And there’s always the old, “you wouldn’t hit a guy with glasses?...”
Steve
It’s basically like being DougJ and getting paid for it. Doesn’t sound so bad to me.
If you happen to actually believe some of the stuff you say, thus obviating the need to make it up out of nowhere, things get even easier!
Zifnab
Hahahahahaha! Fantastic
The Other Steve
I think that only works for Ed Asner.
Paddy O'Shea
Wait’ll Tony Baloney finds out that he will be expected to check his brain in at the White House door, and that all he is going to allowed to say is what Karl Rove tells him to say.
That’s what The Decider expects of a hireling.
Pooh
PotD frontrunner.
LITBMueller
Tony Baloney! I love it, Paddy! :)
And, I suppose if he needs to, he can always use them to stab Helen Thomas in the neck, a la Godfather III.
The Sanity Inspector
A good press secretary has to be comfortable with the idea that, when the White House issues a statement, that is not the end of the matter, but the beginning.
As for names, I once transacted business with a man whose last name was Yawn. I stifled a reflexive yawn upon hearing this. Then I stifled a reflexive urge to exclaim about the reflexive yawn, realizing that he’d probably heard all about it his whole life.
Paddy O'Shea
TSI: When the Bush administration issues a statement, or basically does just about anything, it truly never is the end of the matter.
Tony will discover that damage control is an important part of his job.
Steve
This is not really the case. Conventional wisdom is that we would have had a new Secretary of the Treasury long ago, but no one with gravitas wants to get anywhere near the job since Bush has basically made a joke out of it.
For a lot of people, getting a job in the administration is basically a resume item that you can use to make big money in the private sector for the rest of your life. If you’re already a successful figure in the financial world, you don’t necessarily need the headache.
Tractarian
Has anyone noticed that very few people seem to be complaining that the Administration is hiring someone directly from a major news network? Sure, there are the “lateral hire” jokes being thrown around – but can you imagine the “librul media” uproar if, say, Dan Rather became Clinton’s press secretary?
Actually, I think the lack of outrage is a good sign. I was never bothered by Fox’s political slant – what bothered me was their claim of being “fair and balanced.” Why can’t they be proud of what they are – a conservative media outlet? Maybe the Snow appointment will force them to tear down the “fair and balanced” facade.
Paddy O'Shea
Fox News is basically fantasy infotainment aimed at a specific demographic, mainly middle-aged fat white guys who think everyone is out to get them. And since the Bush admin rarely deals with hard reality either, Snow should fit in quite well.
If our national emcee George W. Bush is the Alex Trabek of presidents, Tony Snow just became Vanna White.
scarshapedstar
Why can’t they be proud of what they are – a conservative media outlet?
Because life’s just no fun if you don’t lie.
The Other Steve
It’s interesting. My girlfriend doesn’t really follow US politics much. She doesn’t like Bush, but she doesn’t know the ins and outs of the political parties and so on and so forth. She’s from Russia, so you can’t blame her.
But she does watch the news. Generally CNN Headline News, sometimes she flips around though.
She doesn’t much care for Fox, in her words… “The guys talking always seem so nasty.”
Krista
Pft…Trebek has more brains in his little finger than Bush has in his entire carcass. (Besides, if you’re drawing a sidekick parallel, then wouldn’t Bush be Pat Sajak?)
Richard 23
Why don’t we ever hear the good news about Tony Snow becoming the new White House Press Secretary? The terrorists are obviously monitoring you moonbats and your opinions of this great American. Aid and comfort is treason!
Why can’t Balloon Juice (condom deposit) be like it was in the old days? When the real Americans outnumbered the traitorous moonbats…. Until then, we at Scrutator will continue to list John Communist and Tim Marxist as part of “the wrong way.”
HyperIon
TOS: Your girlfriend’s quote “The guys talking always seem so nasty” reminds me of something I have noticed for several years now—even before the Age of Flight Suit Boy.
Although I consider myself a fiscal conservative, I perceive many Republicans as mean or at least mean-spirited. Contrast this with “bleeding-heart” liberals. And then ponder the phrase “compassionate conservatism”...as a novel alternative to regular old NON-compassionate conservatism.
I would like to reject this analysis as over-simplified but whenever I hear folks unknown to me genuinely expressing sympathy for someone who is not in their “club”, it usually turns out that they are not Republicans.
Pooh
Krista, your canuck bias is showing. What kind of patriotic american are you?
Pat
Well I didn’t fall into the easy rhetoric of ‘Snow job’. Instead I played with the Raw Story assertions about Snow and racism with this headline: The new White House Snow ‘white’.
http://leftindependent.blogspo.....white.html
Pat
Well I didn’t fall into the easy rhetoric of ‘Snow job’. Instead I played with the Raw Story assertions about Snow and racism with this headline: The new White House Snow ‘white’.
http://leftindependent.blogspo.....white.html
Pat
Gee, I didn’t fall into the easy rhetoric of ‘Snow job’. Instead I played with the Raw Story assertions about Snow and racism with this headline: The new White House Snow ‘white’.
http://leftindependent.blogspo.....white.html
Pat
Stupid screwed up software.
The Other Steve
Honestly, I think as far as the choices available. Tony Snow isn’t a bad pick.
The Disenfranchised Voter
You haven’t seen him being crazy?
He talked about the War on Chistmas, John.
Enough said.
And yes, I’m back bitches…
Krista
Damn skippy it is. GWB isn’t fit to be Alex Trebek’s towel boy.
Pb
Paddy O’Shea,
Bingo.
Pooh
Boo-yeah…
scs
And your PM is an idiot! (whatever his name is)
Anyway, I think it’s funny how foreigners think it’s okay to criticise other people’s leaders, but don’t necessarily like the same treatment in return. When my German cousins visited (prob more liberal than any of you all) and bashed Bush freely to us, I made some comments about how I didn’t like Schroeder that much, didn’t like his style, his persona, his 5 or 6 marriages. They immediately got very defensive about it. Just a little irony, no?