About Me
Robert Anthony Snow. (June 1, 1955 – July 12, 2008) was a White House Press Secretary, the third under President George W. Bush. Snow also worked for President George H. W. Bush as chief speechwriter and Deputy Assistant of Media Affairs. Snow served as White House Press Secretary from May 2006 until his resignation effective September 2007.Between his two White House stints, Snow was a broadcaster and newspaper columnist. After years of regular guest-hosting for The Rush Limbaugh Show and providing news commentary for National Public Radio, he launched his own talk radio program, The Tony Snow Show, which went on to become nationally syndicated. He was also a regular personality on Fox News Channel since 1996, hosting Fox News Sunday, Weekend Live, and often substituting as host of The O'Reilly Factor. In April of 2008, shortly before his death, Snow joined CNN as a commentator.
Snow decided to leave the position of press secretary after new White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten asked all staff members to either commit to staying through the end of Bush's second term or leave by Labor Day of 2007. In his final press briefing on September 13, 2007, Snow commented that he would miss the duties of the position. "I love these briefings," he said.
In February 2005, while still at Fox News, Snow was diagnosed with cancer in his colon. He returned to broadcasting in April 2005 after having surgery. On March 23, 2007, after almost a year as press secretary, Snow once again recused himself from work to seek treatment for recurrent cancer. Treatment for the spreading cancer continued to force periodic absences from his duties in his final few months as press secretary, his subsequent position as a CNN commentator, and his public speaking engagements. In the early morning of July 12, 2008, Snow died at Georgetown University Hospital as a result of colon cancer that had spread to his liver. Reacting to Snow's death, President George W. Bush lauded what he felt was Snow's ability to bring "a certain civility to this very contentious job.
