Tony Snow dead at 53.

Vaporous · Post by **Vaporous** » 2008-07-12 01:46pm

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former White House press secretary Tony Snow -- who once told reporters "I'm a very lucky guy" -- died at the age of 53 early Saturday after a second battle with cancer.

Snow, who had been undergoing chemotherapy treatments for a recurrence of the disease, left his White House job September 14, 2007, and joined CNN in April as a conservative commentator.

President Bush said Saturday that he and first lady Laura Bush were "deeply saddened" by Snow's death.

"The Snow family has lost a beloved husband and father. And America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character," the president said in a statement.

"It was a joy to watch Tony at the podium each day."

Snow also worked for the first President Bush, who commented Saturday:

"In this case it isn't a press secretary. It isn't a speech writer. It was a dear, valued friend that went on to heaven. ... He won the respect of even those who violently disagree with the president's proposals and policies. For that I think he'll be remembered. He brought a certain civility to this very contentious job."

Snow's successor, White House press secretary Dana Perino, said, "The White House is so deeply saddened by this loss. He was a great friend and colleague and a fantastic press secretary. And his dear family is in our thoughts and prayers."

Republican Rep. John Boehner called Snow "a proud son of Cincinnati," the Ohio city that Boehner represents in Congress and where Snow grew up.

"Churchill said, 'I like a man who grins when he fights,' and that was Tony Snow," Boehner said. "For 35 years, as a writer, broadcaster, and spokesman, he fought fiercely for what he believed in, and he did it with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. His loss is a loss for our country."

In 2007, Chief of Staff Josh Bolten had told senior White House staffers that unless they could commit to staying until Bush leaves office in January 2009, they should leave by Labor Day 2007, so Snow resigned.

In parting comments to reporters at his final White House news conference, Snow said, "I feel great."

He also called the job "the most fun I've ever had."

Snow said he was leaving the White House position to make more money for his family. His White House salary was $168,000, and he said he had taken out a loan so he could take the job. Snow said he was leaving because the loan money ran out.

Snow is survived by his wife, Jill Walker, and three children -- Kendall, Robbie and Kristi.

Snow was first diagnosed with colon cancer in February 2005. His colon was removed, and after six months of treatment, doctors said the cancer was in remission.

A recurrence of the illness was diagnosed 11 months after he began the White House media job. At that time, doctors also discovered that the colon cancer had spread to his liver.

He underwent five weeks of treatment before resuming his daily briefings to the press corps. He was greeted with applause upon his return.

"Not everybody will survive cancer," Snow told the reporters, "but on the other hand, you have got to realize you've got the gift of life, so make the most of it. That is my view, and I'm going to make the most of my time with you."

Perino announced March 27, 2007, that Snow's cancer had recurred, and said doctors had removed a growth from his abdomen the day before.

Bush tapped Snow to replace Scott McClellan in April 2006.

Snow had been an anchor for "Fox News Sunday" and a political analyst for Fox News Channel, which he joined in 1996. He also hosted "The Tony Snow Show" on Fox News Radio.

During the 1990s, he was a regular guest host for Rush Limbaugh's radio program. During that decade he was a writer, correspondent and host of a PBS news special, "The New Militant Center," a regular commentator for National Public Radio and a frequent guest on television news programs.

Snow was known for his candor.

In a November 11, 2005, column, Snow wrote that Bush's "wavering conservatism has become an active concern among Republicans, who wish he would stop cowering under the bed and start fighting back against the likes of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Wilson."

"The newly passive George Bush has become something of an embarrassment," Snow's column said.

"I asked him about those comments," the president joked at the time of Snow's appointment. "And he said, 'You should have heard what I said about the other guy.'"

Bush said Snow's long career as a journalist helped him understand "the importance of the relationship between government and those whose job it is to cover the government."

Robert Anthony Snow was born June 1, 1955, in Berea, Kentucky, and was raised in Cincinnati. When he was 17, his mother died of colon cancer at age 38.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Davidson College near Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1977, Snow pursued graduate work in philosophy and economics at the University of Chicago.

He worked as an editorial writer and editor at several newspapers, including The Washington Times and the Detroit News. He wrote a column in Detroit, and later wrote a syndicated column.

Snow joined the administration of Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, in 1991, first as chief speech writer and later as deputy assistant to the president for media affairs.

Snow became a television personality when he launched his news shows on Fox in 1993.

When he returned to work at the White House on April 30, 2007, after the second cancer diagnosis, a usually articulate and loquacious Snow stumbled to find words.

"You never anticipate this stuff," he said. "It just happens."

"I want to thank you all. It really meant the world to me. Anybody who does not not believe that thoughts and prayers make a difference, they're just wrong."
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He then prefaced a discussion of his health by saying, "I'm a very lucky guy."

Outside of work, Snow played the guitar, saxophone and flute, and was in a band called Beats Workin' with other Washington professionals.

Posted without comment.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2008-07-12 01:47pm

I feel badly for his family, but I can't say the world isn't better off without lying douchebags like him.

Kanastrous · Post by **Kanastrous** » 2008-07-12 02:59pm

Small loss, really.

Yogi · Post by **Yogi** » 2008-07-12 04:08pm

Why is the liberal media always so defeatist? Tony Snow's fine, he'll be up and about in three days!

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2008-07-12 04:18pm

Yogi wrote:Why is the liberal media always so defeatist? Tony Snow's fine, he'll be up and about in three days!

CNN is liberal? Since when?

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2008-07-12 04:45pm

I guess I'm supposed be scraping the bottom of my sympathy barrel, if the news reports are any indication. Also, he was very "respectful" to the Press Corps, apparently.

Yogi wrote:Why is the liberal media always so defeatist? Tony Snow's fine, he'll be up and about in three days!

You win the thread. Good show, sir.

Yogi · Post by **Yogi** » 2008-07-12 08:01pm

I mean, I know that there have been mistakes in his treatment. However, just because he's dead doesn't mean we should just give up. That would be letting the Cancer win!

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2008-07-12 08:08pm

Yogi wrote:I mean, I know that there have been mistakes in his treatment. However, just because he's dead doesn't mean we should just give up. That would be letting the Cancer win!

We'll just resurrect him through black magic like Zombie Nixon, Zombie Reagan, and Zombie Carlin. Now we can have a Zombie Snow.

Flagg · Post by **Flagg** » 2008-07-13 03:11am

This is really sad news. I was hoping it would be much slower and in a Federal prison.

Post by **Edi** » 2008-07-13 11:49am

Good fucking riddance. One less criminal they need to spend taxpayer money to prosecute later.

Schuyler Colfax · Post by **Schuyler Colfax** » 2008-07-13 05:57pm

Gee, the guy deserves better than this, there are a lot more people worst than him still out there.

R.I.P.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-07-13 07:03pm

Schuyler Colfax wrote:Gee, the guy deserves better than this

No he doesn't. He was a lying douchebag.

there are a lot more people worst than him still out there.

So? How does that support your first statement?

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2008-07-13 10:34pm

Tony Snow was an enabler and a propagandist, who helped sell Bush's crimes as American Virtues™ to a credulous public, and was doing that as a mouthpiece for FoxNoise before he became Bush's chief liar on the podium at the White House. Really, there was zero difference between the job he was doing at Fox and the job he was doing at the White House and he aided in the effort to drag this country right into the sewer. May he rot in hell.

American Infidel · Post by **American Infidel** » 2008-07-13 11:36pm

R.I.P Tony Snow

Flagg · Post by **Flagg** » 2008-07-14 01:45am

Schuyler Colfax wrote:Gee, the guy deserves better than this, there are a lot more people worst than him still out there.

R.I.P.

Go fuck yourself you ignorant little dickhole. Anyone dying of cancer who goes on TV and smears a former colleague for telling the truth as one of their last living acts deserves to be ridiculed long after death. The fact that even the most liberal of mainstream media figures will be talking about how "classy" this cunt was over the next week is a goddamned crime against humanity in itself.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-07-14 02:12am

Favourite quotes of Mr. Douchebag, Tony Snow:

"Those eager to exploit differences between blacks and whites in America ignore the fact that the differences have all but vanished."

"Furthermore, progressive taxation undermines the notion of shared citizenship. The federal law thus treats economic success the same way it treats embezzlement or murder — as a forbidden activity to be punished with increasingly harsh sanctions."

"The president, in his responsibilities as commander in chief, sometimes has to do things that may or may not comport with the law. [T]he argument has always been that the constitutional obligation to serve as commander in chief sometimes pushes aside contemporary laws."

"[Valerie Plame] wasn’t a covert agent. She wasn’t compromised. As a result, what you’re doing is possibly sending a senior administration official off about a faulty memory over something that wasn’t a crime."

Those are from thinkprogress.org. And they don't include one of his most famous quotes, "There is not a civil war going on" (in Iraq). The guy was a fucking cuntrag of the most foul sort. That doesn't mean I actually wanted to kill the guy when he was alive, but it does mean I don't have to say nice things about him posthumously.

Post by **Vympel** » 2008-07-14 06:12am

"The president, in his responsibilities as commander in chief, sometimes has to do things that may or may not comport with the law. [T]he argument has always been that the constitutional obligation to serve as commander in chief sometimes pushes aside contemporary laws."

There's been talk by some observers that the "fetishization" of the President as "OUR GLORIOUS COMMANDER IN CHIEF" has gotten to extreme levels, and the above quote is Exhibit A. What the fuck does Bush's status as the Commander in Chief of the armed forces have to do with pushing aside the laws of the country? Nothing. But you've got all these ignorant twats who go on and on about how "we" have to obey "orders" from "our" commander in chief, as if he's some sort of emperor.

The Spartan · Post by **The Spartan** » 2008-07-14 08:04am

General Zod wrote:
Yogi wrote:Why is the liberal media always so defeatist? Tony Snow's fine, he'll be up and about in three days!
CNN is liberal? Since when?

Since they were left of Fox "News."

Anyhow, good riddance to a lying sack of shit.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2008-07-15 12:36am

Vympel wrote:There's been talk by some observers that the "fetishization" of the President as "OUR GLORIOUS COMMANDER IN CHIEF" has gotten to extreme levels, and the above quote is Exhibit A. What the fuck does Bush's status as the Commander in Chief of the armed forces have to do with pushing aside the laws of the country?

I believe the argument is that, since the president takes an oath to "protect and defend the Constitution", he would not be fulfilling his oath if he didn't do everything possible (including breaking the law) to ensure the security of America. It's basically the neo-cons desperately looking for legal support for their doctrine of "the ends justify the means".

Iceberg · Post by **Iceberg** » 2008-07-15 06:24am

I clearly need a couple of plane tickets. Because between him and Jesse Helms, there are a couple of fresh or soon to be fresh graves that need dancing on.

Post by **Vympel** » 2008-07-15 08:11am

Durandal wrote:
I believe the argument is that, since the president takes an oath to "protect and defend the Constitution", he would not be fulfilling his oath if he didn't do everything possible (including breaking the law) to ensure the security of America. It's basically the neo-cons desperately looking for legal support for their doctrine of "the ends justify the means".

It's a ridiculous argument, obviously. They seem to be replacing "Constitution" with another word, since I don't see how someone protects and defends same by ignoring it repeatedly.

Pulp Hero · Post by **Pulp Hero** » 2008-07-15 09:12am

This morning, Fox News was talking about "How the media was smearing the image of the deceased Tony snow." They went on and on about the AP publishing an "offensive" obituary for snow before finally showing it. The obituary was actually rather well written and accurate, discribing Snow as a man who helped sell the war. I think O'Reilly almost busted a vein in his head talking.