Two former White House press secretaries were in the news yesterday. Tony Snow, whose battle with colon cancer is well-documented, had to cancel a speech due to an undisclosed illness that will not allow him to travel.
I had a chance to see Tony Snow at the recent Center for Arizona Policy dinner, and he is as relentlessly optimistic as ever. He also remains a huge supporter of President Bush, speaking with gratitude of his time in the White House in what he described to me as “the best job ever.”
Before and after his time as White House Press Secretary, Tony Snow had a successful career.
Contrast Tony Snow with the sad spectacle of Scott McClellan — the other former White House Press Secretary –who, if not for President Bush, would probably still be a campaign staffer for low-profile Texas campaigns, including his mother’s runs for Texas Comptroller. Without Bush, probably only his mother would know his name.
McClellan has no new inside information, no blockbuster revelations. All he has is a bizarre personal odyssey into the fever swamps of anti-war liberalism, motivated by hurt feelings at being forced from his job.
In order to enrich himself and sell books, McClellan has essentially adopted the phony arguments of the political left, without any more evidence than they have. I wouldn’t buy or read his book if you paid me.
