Tony Snow On President Bush: ‘An Embarrassment,’

April 25, 2006 4:23 PM

Tony Snow On President Bush: ‘An Embarrassment,’It seems clear now that we will have Snow In Late April as the Bush appointment to be the new press spokesman. Snow comes to the lawn of the White House all the way from Fox News, where he represented their view of Fair and balanced. So balanced in fact that he said things such as this: "“No president has looked this impotent this long when it comes to defending presidential powers and prerogatives.” [9/30/05]. But that was then and this is now and so can we assume that suddenly Bush will be seen as a masterful leader of his nation?
posted by Postroad (63 comments total)

Note that many of Mr. Snow's attacks are from Mr. Bush's right.
posted by docgonzo at 4:25 PM on April 25, 2006

"But that was then and this is now and so can we assume that suddenly Bush will be seen as a masterful leader of his nation?"

That gave me an eyeball migraine.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 4:28 PM on April 25, 2006

Yes, we can assume that if Tony Snow is hired as press secretary, he will do his job. That job is to present the White House's official position on questions from the press, not to provide his personal opinion. Next?
posted by punishinglemur at 4:32 PM on April 25, 2006

punishinglemur got it. The job of the press secretary is not to offer any form of opinion, but rather to tout the official White House line, keep the press focused on the happy side of things, and smile for the cameras. The job of opinion news is to complain about something and get people to watch. Tony Snow is going from one to the other, and if he wants to keep the job, he'll do what the job entails.
posted by Saydur at 4:47 PM on April 25, 2006

Since Bush's press secretary is obviously better titled "Minister of Disinformation" I don't really see the rub.

An administration filled with prevaricators, jerks, and greedy assholes has a right to pick one of their own.
posted by rougy at 4:47 PM on April 25, 2006

“No president has looked this impotent this long when it comes to defending presidential powers and prerogatives.”

Jesus Christ, Bush makes up presidential powers and prerogatives. What else does Snow want?
posted by brundlefly at 4:47 PM on April 25, 2006

What else does Snow want?

A king. Duh.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 5:02 PM on April 25, 2006

Oh, yeah. Sorry.
posted by brundlefly at 5:09 PM on April 25, 2006

You'll be glad to know that Tony Snow has figured out why gas prices are so high at US pumps:

Yep, it's those generals whining about Rumsfeld [.mov link]

I kid you not, baby. We are about to enter an era of White House disinformation that would have made Ari Fleischer's head spin.
posted by digaman at 5:09 PM on April 25, 2006

But just think of how great the Daily Show bits will be.
posted by punishinglemur at 5:10 PM on April 25, 2006

Wow, he managed to say twice that crude oil is "$70 a gallon" and then relate that to criticism of Rumsfeld.
posted by rxrfrx at 5:13 PM on April 25, 2006

Tony Snow on John Murtha, the highly decorated Marine and Congressman who visits the wounded troops at Walter Reed every week and dared speak up against the war:

The Cut and Run Crowd

"It would be easy to portray Jack Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid or any of the other wheezy prophets of the Defeatocrat Party as oddities were it not for the fact that their position on Iraq is deeply consonant with what the Modern Democratic Party has believed for 50 years."
posted by digaman at 5:15 PM on April 25, 2006

wheezy prophets of the Defeatocrat Party

I've never understood why people think that making weak-ass puns of their opponent's name will make them look better. It's just embarrassing to read.
posted by rxrfrx at 5:17 PM on April 25, 2006

Hell, why not just rename Fox News the Truth Channel?
posted by digaman at 5:17 PM on April 25, 2006

As if the US wasn't enough of a laughing stock, the president's new press spokesman is an active freeper, although his user and comments pages seem to have been deleted since yesterday.
posted by liam at 5:19 PM on April 25, 2006

I've never understood why people think that making weak-ass puns of their opponent's name will make them look better.

It's a Rove thing: bypass the cerebral cortex and talk straight to the reptile backbrain that inspires kids to kick the teeth out of fags and dorks in the schoolyard.

Flip, flop, flip, flop!
posted by digaman at 5:19 PM on April 25, 2006

There's a Cincinnati trend here: Boehner, Portman, and Snow.
posted by airguitar at 5:22 PM on April 25, 2006

I disagree, it really seems that posted bybrain_drainat 8:19 PM EST
posted by brain_drain at 5:23 PM on April 25, 2006

Hell, why not just rename Fox News the Truth Channel?

It makes me feel so much. I feel the truth. [/colbert]

(Actually, I have no idea. I've never seen it, except in soul-witheringly stupid excerpts played on the Daily Show and such.)
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:25 PM on April 25, 2006

stavros, you'd think that the Daily Show cherry-picks the stupidest bits to highlight, but no, it's pretty much all like that.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 5:32 PM on April 25, 2006

I really don't understand why he would want this job... He is a cancer survivor, has his own columns, his own radio show, he doesn’t live in D.C.

He wants to lose all independence and become the talking face of George W. Bush as the ship is sinking.

He will get to be in the boys club again. He'll get to hang with the president and Karl Rove. He wants access back into the club, which he had when he worked for the first Bush.
posted by DougieZero1982 at 5:49 PM on April 25, 2006

DougieZero - right you are.
posted by rougy at 5:51 PM on April 25, 2006

Why do reporters still show up for these press conferences. It's been proven a myriad of times that the secretary has flat out lied and in the case of McClellan - has done nothing but lie - so why continue to show up? If someone did nothing but lie to me everyday I would go to other sources to get my facts - of course that would entail actually doing some investigation - something the journalistic community seems to have put on hold during the Bush administration.
posted by any major dude at 5:52 PM on April 25, 2006

The press doesn't go to the press conferences for the facts. They go there for the lies, and then they report to us what the current lies are. Wouldn't you be a little frustrated if nobody knew that Bush had lied, because the press didn't feel like showing up to find out and report what he said?

(not to mention that if reporters decided not to listen to politicians who lie, the 14th street bridge would collapse during the press exodus of DC)
posted by JekPorkins at 5:58 PM on April 25, 2006

Bush is an embarrassment? This is news? What - to a disgraceful, mindlesss, bigot-ass partisan retard? To Parisparamus? Whoops, tautology.
posted by Decani at 6:10 PM on April 25, 2006

Jek makes a very good point.
posted by digaman at 6:15 PM on April 25, 2006

I really don't understand why he would want this job... He is a cancer survivor, has his own columns, his own radio show, he doesn’t live in D.C.

I agree. While the freepers are spraying cum all over themselves at the prospect of one of their own becoming the Official Organ of Truth, I bet that deep in Snow's cancer-surviving heart, he's shitting himself. To go from being a Faux News star to taking a job as the more svelte Scott McClellan upgrade? Sounds like a devil's bargain to me, and I bet Snow knows it.
posted by digaman at 6:18 PM on April 25, 2006

I will say this and then run for my flame-shelter.

I've met Tony Snow and seen him speak when he came to Portland, Or. And compared to the rest of the talking heads in the Fox News camp, he's a grass-smoking hippie. I genuinely like the guy. He's got a personality and a real sense of humor. I hate to see him take this job, especially at this point in the administrations likely demise.

He's a good guy and I'll hate to see him raked over the coals as he probably will be.
posted by Parannoyed at 6:27 PM on April 25, 2006

He's a good guy and I'll hate to see him raked over the coals as he probably will be.

But he's about to fulfill his destiny as an evey more public inveterate liar, so he'll deserve every bit of it.
posted by psmealey at 6:31 PM on April 25, 2006

evey moreeven more
posted by psmealey at 6:32 PM on April 25, 2006

I've met Tony Snow and seen him speak when he came to Portland, Or. And compared to the rest of the talking heads in the Fox News camp, he's a grass-smoking hippie. I genuinely like the guy. He's got a personality and a real sense of humor. I hate to see him take this job, especially at this point in the administrations likely demise.

Al Franken also says he's a great guy. He also really did well on the Bill Mahrer HBO show and dropped a few F-bombs. He seems really down to earth. I'm kind of bummed that he wants this job.
posted by DougieZero1982 at 6:38 PM on April 25, 2006

He liked Keith Olbermann's criticism of him being the choice.
posted by airguitar at 6:47 PM on April 25, 2006

I just think it's optimization. Before, it was Rove to Bush to Scotty to Fox to Rush.

They're just simplfying things. Hell, he can just do the press conferences from the Fox Studios, and save on transit.
posted by eriko at 6:47 PM on April 25, 2006

Jek wrote:

Wouldn't you be a little frustrated if nobody knew that Bush had lied, because the press didn't feel like showing up to find out and report what he said?

It would be the most refreshing thing ever to see a news reporter standing outside of the White House to inform us that he found the press secretary an unreliable source and will no longer depend on him to give us disinformation. Would a police officer continue to use a source that consistently lied to him? They why should a journalist? Just because everyone in Washington is "in" on the farce that is our government doesn't mean the people they screw over need to accept it. I'm not so naive to think that things can actually change and get better but it seems to me that this whole country has given up on trying and that is the real crime of this administration - they've made us all stop caring. That is a very very dangerous thing.
posted by any major dude at 6:52 PM on April 25, 2006

Either they won't take Snow now, or he'll grovel and totally disavow those statements--he's a FOX guy which equals GOP.

semi-related (And definitely the kind of material Snow will have to work with, and spin): ...After having his WMD Tourette's moment, Bush put it out there about who's really runnin' the White House: "I based a lot of my foreign policy decisions on some things that I think are true. One, I believe there's an Almighty, and secondly, I believe one of the great gifts of the Almighty is the desire in everybody's soul, regardless of what you look like or where you live, to be free." Ergo, Jeeezus sez free the peoples so the peoples must be freed and Bush, with the big ol' earthly army, he's gots to do the freein' that Jeeezus (under the guise of his code name, "The Almighty") wants him to be doin'. ...
posted by amberglow at 7:01 PM on April 25, 2006

The business model of a news station doesn't allow for unblemished truth.

The only thing that matters is the impression that you're getting news, and a level of urgency that keeps you tuned in.

News for profit and power has been like this for hundreds of years. There's no reason to think that it would be different just because we fancy ourselves to be advanced, rational and free.

Propaganda is and always will be.
posted by I Love Tacos at 7:05 PM on April 25, 2006

Are you trying to say he WAS or that he Wasn't balanced?

Or are you straddling the fence until you see which way is safe and acceptable to your online cronies?
posted by HTuttle at 7:08 PM on April 25, 2006

I have a good feeling about Snow. First of all, I'm already looking forward to calling his briefings Snow jobs.

Secondly, I just don't see him staying on script and taking it like Scotty or Ari. I think he's going to go all Nixon on us during the briefings.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 7:17 PM on April 25, 2006

Would a police officer continue to use a source that consistently lied to him? They why should a journalist?

See jek's post. The lies of a White House spokesman are news.

But it's crucial that this be pointed out in the press, otherwise you end up with what we've had for six years --

SHAPE OF EARTH: VIEWS DIFFER
posted by digaman at 7:18 PM on April 25, 2006

any major dude, the White House press secretary is a 100% accurate source when it comes to finding out what the White House's statements on various topics are. The press is not there to find out the truth or falsity of the President's statements -- they do that elsewhere already.

When the reporter's question is "what does the White House have to say about these recent developments?" it would be silly to pretend that there's a better source for the answer to that question than the White House itself.

But IMO, the press has a responsibility to confront the White House with tough questions about current events, and force the President in person or through proxies to either answer truthfully or to lie and eventually be found out. To allow the government to simply act without any obligation to communicate to the populace through the press regarding its actions - truthfully or not - would be unconscionable.

Should the press ever report the White House's statements as though the statements themselves are the facts? Of course not - with any president. It's the press' duty to witness and report the lies, and to expose them, and not to ignore or cover them up.
posted by JekPorkins at 7:25 PM on April 25, 2006

He's a good likable guy and I'll hate to see him raked over the coals

For me good implies some integrity. I genuinely enjoyed Reagan's charm, but I didn't confuse that with the real person.

I would, however, agree that ole Snow Job is smarter and more charming than most of his ilk. He definitely knows what he is getting himself into, and will indubitably make a mark on the White House.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 7:27 PM on April 25, 2006

This link is fascinating. Tony is obviously a smart and witty guy, but what the hell is he doing with that jive about how you can't prove evolution with a "test-tube experiment"? You can't prove that the Milky Way is one of an uncountable number of galaxies with a test-tube experiment either, but that doesn't mean astronomy is bunk.

It's sad, really. Note to Tony: You just survived the Big C, man. Don't whore yourself out for such a tacky job.
posted by digaman at 7:34 PM on April 25, 2006

I have never been too impressed with Snow on the radio. I've listened to him for a while, and every policy decision I've heard him talk about sounds like it came directly form GW's talking points. I guess that makes him perfect for the job.
posted by dibblda at 8:01 PM on April 25, 2006

Jek wrote:

The press is not there to find out the truth or falsity of the President's statements -- they do that elsewhere already.

What news have you been watching for the past 5 years?
posted by any major dude at 8:09 PM on April 25, 2006

He should shave the hair from his ears before he goes on TV. Just sayin'.
posted by mijuta at 8:22 PM on April 25, 2006

What news have you been watching for the past 5 years?

Wait - you get your news from TV? Yeah, that could be a problem.
posted by JekPorkins at 8:53 PM on April 25, 2006

Maybe it's just some bad jpg compression issues, but it looks like hippie Tony might need a little Visene after all that pot smoking.
posted by emelenjr at 9:31 PM on April 25, 2006

What news have you been watching for the past 5 years?
posted by any major dude at 11:09 PM EST on April 25 [!]


Check out PBS.
posted by juiceCake at 10:41 PM on April 25, 2006

My pick:

But they said no :-(

This country has lost its way, the terrorists have won.
posted by NewBornHippy at 12:54 AM on April 26, 2006

weak-ass puns of their opponent's name will make them look better. It's just embarrassing to read.

well, it's your opinion. a lot of people, for example, find "Rethuglican" to be quite funny.
posted by matteo at 1:18 AM on April 26, 2006

Interesting that he's worked for Fox News since the beginning, in 1996.
posted by smackfu at 6:45 AM on April 26, 2006

This appointment is in keeping with the current re-arranging of the deck chairs in the White House.

It's another in-house appointment/promotion and even occured inside the official propaganda department.

Snow job ... heh.

Rethuglican Rethuglican Rethuglican Rethuglican Rethuglican!
Yeah, you're correct matteo.
posted by nofundy at 8:20 AM on April 26, 2006

I'm pretty sure I saw "RethugliKKKan" the other day. Now that's comedy!
posted by rxrfrx at 10:29 AM on April 26, 2006

Re(tard)thugliKKKan't

I don't think I can put any more slurs in there. At least not without stripping it down and rebuilding from the frame up.
posted by sonofsamiam at 10:31 AM on April 26, 2006

SNOW RESIGNS, CALLS WHITE HOUSE POLICIES 'A SCAM'

(AP) -- White House spokesman and former Fox News commentator Tony Snow abruptly resigned today, calling the policies of the Bush administration "a scam" and vowing to "tell the truth to the American people about how they have been consistently misled about the war in Iraq." His public resignation sparked a firestorm of criticism in the right-wing blogosphere on such sites as Red State and the Free Republic, where online pundits called Snow "a traitor" who is "giving aid and comfort to terrorists."

Snow, who succeeded former White House spokesman Scott McClellan in a highly publicized shake-up last April, told reporters at a special press conference on Tuesday, "I've survived cancer, but I could never survive another year of having to justify the policies of this administration." The former Fox talk-radio personality, who initially charmed the White House press pool with his witticisms and straight-talk manner, blasted his now ex-boss President Bush as "a clumsy scam artist who has tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the electorate" on such issues as the war in Iraq and the wiretapping on potential terrorists by the National Security Agency.

"At my age, the most important thing to me is my relationship with my family, and whether or not I can look my wife in the eye after a day at the office," Snow explained. "Once I saw what was going on behind the scenes in this administration, I could no longer live with myself."

[...]

http://onlyinmydreams, obviously
posted by digaman at 12:21 PM on April 26, 2006

"Here's the unmentionable secret," Snow said on an October 2003 edition of Fox News Sunday, "racism isn't that big a deal anymore." Snow argued that "no sensible person supports" racism, arguing that the problem is "quickly becoming an ugly memory."
posted by Mean Mr. Bucket at 1:22 PM on April 26, 2006

Tony Snow replaces Scott McClellan
posted by Superfrankenstein at 2:35 PM on April 26, 2006

Will this appointment make other Fox newsjockeys more likely to bite their lip and offer even less disparaging remarks about the Pres or his administration? You know, just in case Bush and Klan are rewarding Fox for all the good work they've done over the years? If I were of that ilk, and worked at Fox, I might keep that in the back of my mind. Bush likes flinging doggie snacks to all his good little pups. FOX, Monster.com for Bush admin.
posted by Sir BoBoMonkey Pooflinger Esquire III at 3:27 PM on April 26, 2006

Right-Wing Radio at the Podium---...No one can cut through crap faster than a right-wing radio host. For instance, illegal immigration: deport 'em. Gas prices: wacko environmentalists are to blame. Iraq: good news isn't being reported. That will now be Tony's job. Cut through the reality and let loose with a sound bite that right-wing radio can repeat across America. One of their own who can distill it all and spin it around in a second. ...
posted by amberglow at 5:31 PM on April 26, 2006

was the lead story on all the evening news this Snow bs, or Rove testifying for the 5th time today?
posted by amberglow at 9:41 PM on April 26, 2006

With the hiring of Tony Snow, the administration has realized that funneling their paychecks through Roger Ailes at Fox was becoming a hassle. Now, the more streamlined process will simply cut out the middleman and most of the Fox anchors will eventually become official spokespeople for the White House.
...
If Rumsfeld ever steps down things could get ugly though. It is rumored that O'Reilly and Hannity are both angling for the job. O'Reilly was overheard shouting at Hannity in the halls of Fox News, "Where were you during the War on Christmas? I was willing to lay my life down for this country while you were getting deferments." They had to be separated as O'Reilly yelled, "Draft dodger!" ...
posted by amberglow at 10:00 PM on April 26, 2006

The question everyone wants answered:

What will be the nickname for Tony Snow?
Hmm?

Snow
Snowball
Balls
Teabagger!!
posted by nofundy at 8:09 AM on April 27, 2006

Q It's come to my attention that there's been requests -- this is a serious question -- to turn these TVs onto a station other than Fox, and that those have been denied. My question would be, is there a White House policy that all government TVs have to be tuned to Fox?
MR. McCLELLAN: Never heard of any such thing. My TVs are on four different channels at all times.
Q Because you have four different TVs. But every time I've ever been --
MR. McCLELLAN: Every TV in the White House also has channels every -- has a split screen, where they can --
Q Well, they always seem to be tuned to Fox, and there's been requests, and these are paid for by taxpayer dollars. And my understanding is that you guys have to watch Fox on Air Force One. Is that true?
MR. McCLELLAN: First time I've ever heard of it. First time you've brought it to my attention, meaning the first time the press corps has brought it to my attention. In fact, I've watched other channels on here.
Q There's one --
MR. McCLELLAN: Hang on, Jim, come on. I've watched other channels on here, so I don't know where yuo're hearing that. But it's the first time anyone in the press has raised that question with me.
Q You've watched other channels other than Fox?
MR. McCLELLAN: On here, yes, sure.
Q I've never seen -- they're always turned to Fox, which a lot of people consider a Republican-leaning network.
Q Scott, is it one -- on the airplane, is it one for all? I mean, if it's tuned for Fox here, is it Fox everywhere?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that certain areas may be interconnected, but I'll have to double-check which.
...

(our servicemembers' news channels on bases all over too, have more FOX than anyone else, newswise)
posted by amberglow at 2:28 PM on April 27, 2006