Much easier to watch & listen to than McClellan or Ari before him. The girl who followed Snow also tho pretty sometimes seems not upto the task.
Snow's press conferences demonstrated his abilities as an advocate for the Whitehouse as he better than the rest was able to defend sometimes indefendable positions without the hostile atmosphere which always seemed to develop before or after he came on board.
Back Channels: Fighter with principle
Tony Snow knew how to roll with the punches.
By Kevin Ferris
Inquirer Columnist
"The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper."
- Aristotle
Fans of Tony Snow, laid to rest on Thursday, had any number of chances to see the beauty of his soul, whether as an eloquent host on radio and Fox News Sunday, an unflappable, enthusiastic spokesman for a beleaguered Bush administration, or as a man who refused to let a devastating disease rob him of his joy for life.
And those fans, particularly those on the conservative side of the aisle worried about the coming election, should take both comfort and inspiration in Snow's example of the last few years: Fight like hell for what you believe in, but in the fray remain principled and decent. Above all, don't lose sight of what's important: family, friends, love.
Snow, 53, was the closing speaker at the Conservative Summit sponsored by the National Review Institute in January 2007. Gloom seemed to be the gathering's prevailing mood. Democrats had taken over Capitol Hill and planned a swift withdrawal from a violence-plagued Iraq. President Bush had just announced a troop surge. Who knew then how ineffective Democrats would be against a so-called lame-duck president, and how effective Gen. David Petraeus' counterinsurgency strategy would be?
After a number of panels and speakers on the woes of 2006, the betrayal of conservative principles, and how to start anew, in walks an upbeat, unapologetic Tony Snow. He wasn't about to waste time bemoaning anything.
"First thing I'm going to do is ... give you a pep talk," Snow said, then providing the marching orders:
"No. 1, Stop complaining.
"No. 2, Roll up your sleeves. We've got a lot of things to do."
High on that list was "proclaiming boldly what we believe, and don't be afraid ... to lay out the facts for those who don't get it."
Snow also had a message for those engaged in "defiant defeatism," a chronic inability to see the United States as a force for good.
"It's a failure narrative that might be politically good ... but it's wrong," he said. In fact, he added, there is "no nation that strives so hard, so mightily and so effectively to get things right."
That optimism, can-do spirit, and love of country weren't just the bluster of a press secretary defending his boss and the political movement they represented. Those characteristics were Snow's long before he joined the administration. They were traits he'd seen and admired in other figures on the national stage.
In 2004, Snow's piece for National Review on the passing of Ronald Reagan mentioned the former president's farewell address at the 1992 GOP convention, what Snow called "a paean to the sweetness, poignancy and promise of American life."
Snow wrote: "The address lays bare the secret ingredient of Reaganism: love - with all its unapologetic power, ardor, ferocity and loyalty. ... Reagan understood that love, alloyed with faith, imparts unparalleled strength. Hardship only fed his ardor ... Reagan accepted reversals as the will of a God who knew better. That is the essence of love: Even in the midst of raging storms, one dreams of sunlight."
Snow could so easily identify that "secret ingredient" because he too was so grounded in faith and love, which he drew on amid his own raging storms.
Last year, when the cancer that would eventually kill him returned, Snow reflected on his ordeal and his spirituality for Christianity Today magazine.
"God relishes surprises," Snow said. "We want lives of simple, predictable ease - smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see - but God likes to go off-road. ... He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance and comprehension - and yet don't. By his love and grace, we persevere. ...
"No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us, each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place - in the hollow of God's hand."
Living up to Snow's example of a life full of love, grace and meaning seems an impossible task. But remember that these are, at heart, very human tasks. They're not easy to achieve, but worth the effort. On any given day, we'll fall short. But the striving alone is bound to improve our lives. How to start?
No. 1, Stop complaining.
No. 2, Roll up your sleeves. We've got a lot of things to do.
I left out information from last week's column on groups sending packages to U.S. troops and Iraqi and Afghan civilians. Contact Treats for the Troops at 856-912-4822 or lkirstein@alliedmedassoc.com. To contact Give to the World, visit www.givetotheworld.org.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/colu...20_Back_Channels__Fighter_with_principle.html
Tony Snow knew how to roll with the punches.
By Kevin Ferris
Inquirer Columnist
"The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper."
- Aristotle
Fans of Tony Snow, laid to rest on Thursday, had any number of chances to see the beauty of his soul, whether as an eloquent host on radio and Fox News Sunday, an unflappable, enthusiastic spokesman for a beleaguered Bush administration, or as a man who refused to let a devastating disease rob him of his joy for life.
And those fans, particularly those on the conservative side of the aisle worried about the coming election, should take both comfort and inspiration in Snow's example of the last few years: Fight like hell for what you believe in, but in the fray remain principled and decent. Above all, don't lose sight of what's important: family, friends, love.
Snow, 53, was the closing speaker at the Conservative Summit sponsored by the National Review Institute in January 2007. Gloom seemed to be the gathering's prevailing mood. Democrats had taken over Capitol Hill and planned a swift withdrawal from a violence-plagued Iraq. President Bush had just announced a troop surge. Who knew then how ineffective Democrats would be against a so-called lame-duck president, and how effective Gen. David Petraeus' counterinsurgency strategy would be?
After a number of panels and speakers on the woes of 2006, the betrayal of conservative principles, and how to start anew, in walks an upbeat, unapologetic Tony Snow. He wasn't about to waste time bemoaning anything.
"First thing I'm going to do is ... give you a pep talk," Snow said, then providing the marching orders:
"No. 1, Stop complaining.
"No. 2, Roll up your sleeves. We've got a lot of things to do."
High on that list was "proclaiming boldly what we believe, and don't be afraid ... to lay out the facts for those who don't get it."
Snow also had a message for those engaged in "defiant defeatism," a chronic inability to see the United States as a force for good.
"It's a failure narrative that might be politically good ... but it's wrong," he said. In fact, he added, there is "no nation that strives so hard, so mightily and so effectively to get things right."
That optimism, can-do spirit, and love of country weren't just the bluster of a press secretary defending his boss and the political movement they represented. Those characteristics were Snow's long before he joined the administration. They were traits he'd seen and admired in other figures on the national stage.
In 2004, Snow's piece for National Review on the passing of Ronald Reagan mentioned the former president's farewell address at the 1992 GOP convention, what Snow called "a paean to the sweetness, poignancy and promise of American life."
Snow wrote: "The address lays bare the secret ingredient of Reaganism: love - with all its unapologetic power, ardor, ferocity and loyalty. ... Reagan understood that love, alloyed with faith, imparts unparalleled strength. Hardship only fed his ardor ... Reagan accepted reversals as the will of a God who knew better. That is the essence of love: Even in the midst of raging storms, one dreams of sunlight."
Snow could so easily identify that "secret ingredient" because he too was so grounded in faith and love, which he drew on amid his own raging storms.
Last year, when the cancer that would eventually kill him returned, Snow reflected on his ordeal and his spirituality for Christianity Today magazine.
"God relishes surprises," Snow said. "We want lives of simple, predictable ease - smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see - but God likes to go off-road. ... He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance and comprehension - and yet don't. By his love and grace, we persevere. ...
"No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us, each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place - in the hollow of God's hand."
Living up to Snow's example of a life full of love, grace and meaning seems an impossible task. But remember that these are, at heart, very human tasks. They're not easy to achieve, but worth the effort. On any given day, we'll fall short. But the striving alone is bound to improve our lives. How to start?
No. 1, Stop complaining.
No. 2, Roll up your sleeves. We've got a lot of things to do.
I left out information from last week's column on groups sending packages to U.S. troops and Iraqi and Afghan civilians. Contact Treats for the Troops at 856-912-4822 or lkirstein@alliedmedassoc.com. To contact Give to the World, visit www.givetotheworld.org.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/colu...20_Back_Channels__Fighter_with_principle.html
hell is where people who post this chit would be going, you'd better pray there is none :think2:
How Liberals Wish Tony Snow Goodbye - L.A. Times Commenters Joyously Revel in Tony Snow’s Death:
http://patterico.com/2008/07/12/la-times-commenters-joyously-revel-in-tony-snows-death/
Compare that to what conservatives said when Sen. Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with a brain tumor at freerepublic.com:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2018816/posts
Liberals like DEAC are such lovely, intelligent, 'compassionate' caring people. :missingte
http://patterico.com/2008/07/12/la-times-commenters-joyously-revel-in-tony-snows-death/
Compare that to what conservatives said when Sen. Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with a brain tumor at freerepublic.com:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2018816/posts
Liberals like DEAC are such lovely, intelligent, 'compassionate' caring people. :missingte
