Tony Snow acknowledged a couple of weeks ago that his service to the White House would wrap up fairly soon, and sure enough, he made it official today.
White House press secretary Tony Snow, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, will step down from his post September 14 and be replaced by deputy press secretary Dana Perino, the White House announced Friday.
Although no reason was given, Snow recently told conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt that, due to financial reasons, he did not expect to remain on the White House staff through the remainder of President Bush’s term.
Bush told reporters Friday that he will “sadly accept” Snow’s resignation.
I still find it odd to hear the president’s spokesperson argue that $168,000 a year is just not enough to get by these days, but maybe that’s just me.
The president will reportedly announce Snow’s departure officially this afternoon in the briefing room, and will welcome Perino as his fourth press secretary.
As for Snow, his departure is but the latest in a long line of hurried exists from this sinking ship. Other recent resignations include Karl Rove, Dan Bartlett, Sara Taylor, Pete Wehner, Alberto Gonzales, Harriet Miers, Rob Portman, J.D. Crouch, and Meghan O’Sullivan, with many more sure to come. (It’s not at all unusual for a White House to undergo major staffing changes shortly before the end of a second term, but the Bush gang is hemorrhaging staff with about 15 months to go.)
Does Snow leave a legacy? That’s a tougher question.
Snow was probably the most genial of the three Bush press secretaries. He combined the dishonesty of Ari Fleischer, the secrecy of Scott McClellan, the credibility of Baghdad Bob, and the smooth confidence and blind loyalty of a Fox News personality. I’ve read the transcript of pretty much every White House press briefing since Bush took office, and I have to say, Snow passes the have-a-beer-with test quite nicely — he can lie with the best of them, but he’d usually smile while he was doing it.
I couldn’t possibly relay all of his greatest hits — though his dismissal of Mark Foley’s predatory IM messages as “simply naughty emails” does come to mind — but if you’re looking for just one briefing that captured Snow’s style, I’d point to one from earlier this year — Jan. 16, 2007.
Congress was preparing a non-binding resolution in opposition to the president’s surge policy, which prophetic Dems suspected wouldn’t work. Snow argued that Congress was aiding and abetting terrorists by even having the debate in the first place: “The question you have to ask yourself is, do you understand what possible ramifications are? In an age of instant and global communication, what message does it send to the people who are fighting democracy in Iraq? And, also, what message does it send to the troops?”
It led to this exchange.
Q: Just to be clear, do you believe that a non-binding resolution that opposes a troop increase, does that provide comfort to the enemy?
SNOW: I don’t know.
In other words, asked if bi-partisan congressional criticism of the war in Iraq is literally treason, Snow isn’t sure. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.
Stick it in a time capsule. Future generations will marvel at what the Bush gang did to our public discourse.
Update: Tim Grieve pulled together quite a few noteworthy gems from Snow’s tenure:
June 15, 2006: Asked if the White House has any comment on the 2,500th U.S. fatality in Iraq, Snow says: “It’s a number, and every time there’s one of these 500 benchmarks people want something.”
Sept. 9, 2006: Six days after the president says, “We will stay the course” in Iraq, Snow says, “The idea that somehow we’re staying the course is just wrong. It is absolutely wrong.”
Dec. 6, 2006: Snow on how the president’s claim that we’re “winning” in Iraq is really the same as Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ statement that we’re not winning Iraq:
Feb. 15, 2007: Snow on what went wrong in pre-war planning for Iraq: “I’m not sure anything went wrong.”
March 1, 2007: Snow responds to reports that two U.S. combat brigades will “surge” into Iraq without undergoing the usual counterinsurgency training in California’s Mojave Desert first: “Well, but they can get desert training elsewhere, like in Iraq.”
March 19, 2007: Snow tells reporters that the Democrats plan for Iraq represents a “recipe for defeat.” When CNN’s Ed Henry ask Snow to describe the White House’s “recipe for success,” Snow asks Henry what his “recipe for success is.” When Henry says that winning the war in Iraq isn’t exactly in his job description, Snow tells him to “Zip it.”
June 14, 2007: Asked if any member of the Bush family is serving in the war on terrorism, Snow responds: “Yes, the president. The president is in the war every day.” Reporter: “On the front lines, wherever?” Snow: “The president.”
It’s amazing reporters even showed up to these briefings at all, knowing that Snow long ago gave up on the notion of being taken seriously.