Quote :

" 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. • Click here to view photos. "The White House has lost a great friend and a great colleague," said President Bush's press secretary Dana Perino. "We all loved watching him at the podium, but most of all we learned how to love our families and treat each other." 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 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 Ellen Walker, whom he married in 1987, and their son, Robbie, and daughters, Kendell and Christie. "

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,381250,00.html

Very sad. He was much too young to die. He was a great personality on TV and was always fun to watch. I also did not know he was a Davidson graduate and worked for the Greensboro News & Record as his first media job.

Rest in peace, Tony Snow.

[Edited on July 12, 2008 at 8:22 AM. Reason : .]

7/12/2008 8:20:06 AM

meh. sucks.

7/12/2008 8:23:50 AM

agree with him or not, no one can say that he wasn't damned good at his job.

7/12/2008 8:59:18 AM

RIP

7/12/2008 9:48:12 AM

My dad used to watch him on FOX every Sunday
A sad day
RIP Mr Snow

7/12/2008 9:53:04 AM

Mr. Snow

What a great name for a press secretary. He was good too, sometimes I actually bought the shit he was selling.

7/12/2008 10:58:46 AM

very sad indeed. He was an incredible journalist and an incredible guy. Sad day for his family and for America

7/12/2008 11:12:42 AM

This is going a lot better than the Jesse Helms thread.

7/12/2008 1:31:33 PM

jesse helms was an old bigot whose time had long passed.

tony snow was a (relatively) young man

sad news.

7/12/2008 1:36:24 PM

I really had alot of respect for how he handled his situation with pride and strength. 53 is to young for any of us to go, but he really seemed to be a good man with a good heart. Its sad to see him go.

7/12/2008 2:19:06 PM

just saw this on yahoo...man this sucks..i'm making a chit chat thread

7/12/2008 2:30:03 PM

who?

7/12/2008 2:36:19 PM

Didnt he have to leave his post as press secretary, because even with his $168k a year job and benefits, he still couldnt afford his cancer treatment? Doesn't say much for our healthcare system.

7/12/2008 5:04:54 PM

he could afford the treatment...however, being the press secretary while battling cancer wasnt a good idea, hence why he left

7/12/2008 5:23:26 PM

the administration gave him cancer and then killed him, ala x-files.

7/12/2008 5:34:39 PM

Quote :

" Snow, battling a recurrence of colon cancer he had hoped was in remission when he became the president’s chief spokesman in April 2006, said it is not the disease but the financial burden his work has placed on his family that is forcing him to leave. While paid $168,000 a year as press secretary, that salary is far less than Snow, a father of three who has fought cancer since 2005, made as a host for the Fox News Channel and Fox News Radio. “Cancer has nothing to do with this,” Snow said Friday of his decision. “I ran out of money,” he said. “I made more money when I was in my previous career. … We took out a loan when I came to the White House, and that loan is now gone.”"

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003863482_snow01.html

7/12/2008 6:37:41 PM

RIP

7/12/2008 7:11:36 PM

http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/07/12/my-friend-the-irreplaceable-tony-snow/

Quote :

"Tony Snow was a friend and one of the nicest human beings to walk on this planet. All of us who know him will miss him. With Tony there was no ego, he could have a conversation with the President of the United States or the security guard at FOX News and he was concerned more about them than himself. Even though he had been sick when our mutual friend Deborah Orin died, Tony went out of his way to help Deborah’s family. He did not need to and no one knew the extent of what he did to help. We were very different politically but he took an active interest in my project in the Gulf of Mississippi. Politics mattered to the professional Tony but Tony the friend, let go of differences and only saw the commonality between people. When he became ill while serving as Press Secretary many of the staff and press wore yellow wristbands with his name on it. He was loved by so many of us in the White House Press Corps. Many people asked why he left the job he loved most as Press Secretary at the White House. Tony was always positive about his health but never in a state of denial. He knew the end would be near and wanted to spend time with his family and leave them in the best circumstances he could. As a kind, gentle man who cared for his family, his country and his friends there can be no replacement for Tony Snow."

7/12/2008 8:53:59 PM

Russert, Helms, and Snow all dead so near each other. Kind of strange...

7/12/2008 9:07:31 PM

It does sound like he was a good guy and looking back it seems like it was pretty easy to tell because of how charismatic he was in front of other people. It's just hard to see past the fact that his job was to continue to pull the wool in front of the public's eyes. Still, it seems like he was much more good than bad and it sucks that the world lost him.

7/12/2008 9:13:48 PM

He was definitely very charismatic, as his Daily Show interviews show, but the world could do without people that lie so blithely.

7/12/2008 9:20:05 PM

^^^That was the 1st thing that came to mind when I heard this today.

7/12/2008 11:43:32 PM

i see a strong correlation and likeness between Russert and Snow. Both were intellectual journalists of the highest caliber. In their field, they were giants among men. Individually, they each advanced their profession and redefined what it meant to be a professional journalist. Sadly they both tragically died well before their time.

Jesse Helms, on the other hand, was an old bigot who couldn't have died too soon. He was an anachronism even in his prime -- the man should have lived in the 19th Century. all he did was lower the bar of political discourse and appeal to the base fear and prejudice of the lowest common denominator. No one outside his immediate family will miss that son of a bitch. The only tragedy with Helms' death is that it didn't happen 20 or 30 years sooner. Good riddance.






[Edited on July 13, 2008 at 2:16 AM. Reason : ]

7/13/2008 2:07:06 AM

Quote :

"On January 9, 2007, Raddatz's mobile phone went off during a White House press briefing with Tony Snow. Of particular humor was her musical ring tone Chamillionaire's, "Ridin'." The press corps and Tony Snow enjoyed a few moments of laughter."

7/13/2008 2:34:24 AM

CBS News report:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=C9_d7bEV1T4

And Martha Raddatz of ABC News almost broke down during her report about Snow. And there's this story:

Quote :

"On January 9, 2007, Raddatz's mobile phone went off during a White House press briefing with Tony Snow. Of particular humor was her musical ring tone Chamillionaire's, 'Ridin'.' The press corps and Tony Snow enjoyed a few moments of laughter."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Raddatz

7/13/2008 2:37:23 AM

^^^Seriously man, why don't you just cool it with the "i'm glad he's dead" talk. We know, you're a liberal, you hate everything that isn't like you, and that's fine. You aren't much better than Jesse Helms, in that respect. I'm just tired of reading about it in every thread.

7/13/2008 1:33:45 PM

i'll quit talking about Jesse Helms when people quit bringing up his name in the same breath as other people -- Like Tony Snow and Tim Russert -- who actually were worthwhile human beings.

until then, you can cry more please.




[Edited on July 13, 2008 at 2:41 PM. Reason : ]

7/13/2008 2:39:47 PM

^ I understand someone having respect for snow, but where exactly does your particular affection for him come from, schmoe?

I don't ever recall him being on the noble side of any issues, like Russert had often been.

7/13/2008 6:41:36 PM

he was just a likeable guy imo...his cancer story made you want to pull for the guy(no homo)

7/13/2008 6:54:11 PM

^^ well, to be honest, i dont think Snow could really could hold a candle to Russert in terms of intellectualism, but i guess i'm just trying my damnedest to give him benefit of the doubt so i dont look like a complete partisan hack.

regardless, he was damn good at his job.

and it is tragic for him to have died so soon, at the top of his game.

7/13/2008 7:06:08 PM

But you are a partisan hack. I don't think anyone here believes otherwise.

7/13/2008 7:15:54 PM

^
pot ->kettle, black

7/13/2008 7:21:53 PM

i cant say i recall ^^ but i will be honest that some of joe_schmoes posts have given me that impression, not in this thread, cuz i didnt read it, but in the past some have made me go like man come on...like one of the kind of dems i dont want on my side


but i mean this is dnl talking here so i cant say much

[Edited on July 13, 2008 at 7:24 PM. Reason : thinking outloud?]

7/13/2008 7:23:47 PM

^^I know you were dying to get that out, except I'm not a partisan hack. I disagree with both main parties on a good number of issues. I don't want people that I disagree with to die, though.

7/13/2008 7:32:29 PM

dubya killed him

7/13/2008 9:40:41 PM

Quote :

"DnLbut in the past some have made me go like man come on...like one of the kind of dems i dont want on my side"

:-|

7/14/2008 12:36:35 AM

I wish Robert Byrd would hurry up and die since he's a racist piece of shit

/schmoe

7/14/2008 11:14:54 AM

that's different tree, Byrd's not a racist a democrat.

7/14/2008 11:46:26 AM

Hey I'm not fan of Robert Byrd.

just like David Duke, his leadership activity in the KKK makes him a piece of trash in my book. you cant just apologize for that shit and make it go away.

but, me having never lived in W.Va., the dude's just not on my radar screen -- so I dont feel compelled to rant about him.

still.... i dont give two shits if he lives or he dies. He's an old racist sonofabitch, and I won't mourn his passing when he finally kicks it.

7/14/2008 2:09:10 PM

i'm a huge fan of robert byrd

7/14/2008 2:12:31 PM

Im a huge fan of The Byrds

7/14/2008 2:13:52 PM

no wai.

the Yardbirds are where it's at.

7/14/2008 2:52:55 PM

Quote :

"The New York Times, along with the Associated Press and Washington Post, made somewhat odd digs in their obituaries about Snow's supposed problem with facts during his press secretary stint."

http://www.getreligion.org/?p=3704

The liberal press just had to get their cheap shots in.

7/15/2008 6:35:10 AM

are you serious? I didn't read that entire article, but the paragraph you quoted alone contains enough ridiculousness

Quote :

"While the New York Times and the Washington Post found room to include Snow’s salary at his White House job, neither of them mentioned his strong religious views that were so integral to his outlook on life."

well, seeing as Snow publicly stated that the reason he quit his White House job was because he ran out of money, i think he salary, while not vital information, is somewhat relevant. His "strong religious views", on the other hand, are not relevant to his job.

Quote :

"The New York Times, along with the Associated Press and Washington Post, made somewhat odd digs in their obituaries about Snow’s supposed problem with facts during his press secretary stint. (He was known for his expertise at explaining the big picture rather than specific policy details.)"

Not sure the examples they gave are "odd digs". Press Secretaries across the board are not exactly known to be in complete control of "the facts"

Quote :

"So I found it particularly funny that the Times story had its own problem with facts: During Mr. Bush’s 2006 re-election campaign . . ."

yes.... it's particularly funny when a newspaper makes a typo, or maybe the liberal idiots over a the NYT really do think there was a Presidential election in 2006!

7/15/2008 8:15:57 AM

^ Yeah. . .um. . .except the Times et al didn't take those type of shots at Russert--BTW, they did mention his "devoted" religious views:

Quote :

"Off camera and away from the office, Mr. Russert was a mentor to young colleagues, a gregarious man with a rolling laugh and a roster of friends who were in his life for decades, a devoted Roman Catholic proud of his Jesuit education at John Carroll University in Ohio."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/14/business/media/14russert.html?pagewanted=2&fta=y#

And Juan Williams--no right-winger--put it best, and I'm paraphrasing: When someone has been involved in a big scandal, you're obligated to print that in an obituary. But that wasn't the case with Snow--it was just some cheap shots about his command of the facts or some such.

NB: I wasn't taking issue with any obits failure to mention Snow's religion--though the article I posted took issue with this. I posted it because of the "odd digs" angle--I should've made that clear.

[Edited on July 15, 2008 at 8:38 AM. Reason : .]

7/15/2008 8:30:10 AM

His salary was not relevant to his life, it was relevant to his job. The obituary is about his life. His religious views are very relevant IN AN OBITUARY.

It's amazing that these types of cheap shots were waged against a guy like Tony.

7/15/2008 11:57:06 AM

When a public figure dies, the obituaries, or remembrances or whatever, tend to focus on what that person was known for. In this case, Tony Snow was best known to 99% of the readers as being the White House Press Secretary, or maybe a journalist/commentator. When a normal person dies, their local hometown paper will focus on that person's life and family, because that's likely how people reading that obit will know him. But when a public figure/celebrity dies, almost all people reading are more interested in or simply more familiar with that person through their job. Having said all that, I will agree that even though Snow publicly stated that the reason he left the White House was because of money, it is tacky and not important to list his salary.

7/15/2008 12:42:58 PM

Quote :

"I will agree that even though Snow publicly stated that the reason he left the White House was because of money, it is tacky and not important to list his salary"

very tacky.

all government jobs -- including those at the white house -- have their salaries fixed by law.

7/16/2008 2:50:08 PM