Tony Snow Dies of Cancer at 53

Press secretary won over a hostile press corps with wit, knowledge

(NEWSER) - When Tony Snow took over as press secretary 2 years ago, the White House press corps wanted blood. Snow’s predecessors, the hostile Ari Fleischer and misinformed Scott McClellan, had left a bad taste in their mouths. But then came Snow, a breath of fresh air who won over the room with his knowledge and wit, writes Massimo Calabresi of Time. More»

(NEWSER) - White House spokesman Tony Snow, who recently battled colon cancer, is ready to step down from his post, CNN is reporting. The move could come as early as next month. On a TV interview show yesterday, Snow said he might not be able to stay for the rest of the Bush presidency because of "financial reasons." More»

GOP faithful can't fathom why press goes so easy on new president

(NEWSER) - Supporters of George Bush are miffed about the passes the media has given President Obama for trespasses the former president would likely have been excoriated for. “We have a joke about it. We’re going to start a website: IfBushHadDoneThat.com,” former Bush counselor Ed Gillespie tells Politico. Some examples of perceived media bias: More»

Longtime fan Fleischer brings media know-how to NFL, MLB

(NEWSER) - President Bush’s onetime press secretary has embraced another passion: sports, the Washington Post reports. Helping athletes from the NFL, Major League Baseball, and elsewhere deal with the media blitz was an easy transition, Ari Fleischer says: “The only two institutions in our society that have their events covered live and that have sections of the newspaper dedicated to themselves are America’s premier sports leagues and the White House.” More»

(NEWSER) - Karl Rove fired back today at Maureen Dowd for criticizing former President Bush’s frequent vacation time in Texas, Politico reports. “I think Maureen Dowd is a bitter, twisted, deranged columnist for the New York Times,” Rove told Fox News, “who misses no opportunity to show her disdain for the conservative side of the aisle.” Rove added that he likes her writing. More»