Althouse: "I know there won't be the outpouring of gushing praise for him like happened with Russert's death. But I didn't cry for Russert."

July 12, 2008

"I know there won't be the outpouring of gushing praise for him like happened with Russert's death. But I didn't cry for Russert."

"I do for Tony."

23 comments:

Swifty Quick said...: Russert had his thinly veiled biases, but being an upfront Repub partisan as Snow was is a big part of why there won't be the Russert-like outpouring. And along with that, as a general proposition, anybody who was Rush Limbaugh's handpicked guest host for years aint gonna get fawned over by the MSM.; 7/12/08, 10:51 AM
Corky Boyd said...: Tony was just a superb individual. We will all miss him.; 7/12/08, 10:58 AM
vbspurs said...: OMG. :(((

I had no idea he wasn't going to beat this.

(I know Paul Newman is battling and losing his bout with cancer, but somehow Snow seemed younger and more resilient)

I am amongst those that will miss Snow a lot. He could strip the varnish off of BS even amongst his own crowd, and that's priceless in journalism.

RIP Tony...; 7/12/08, 12:18 PM
Anonymous said...: He was smart and charming and, from all accounts, a good man. I will miss him.; 7/12/08, 1:18 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: "I do for Tony"

Me too. Even my husband was choked up.

Tony Snow was always the professional. Upbeat, intelligent, articulate and a genuinely nice guy. Such a loss.; 7/12/08, 1:27 PM
Roger J. said...: A class act--RIP and condolences to his family.; 7/12/08, 1:45 PM
Padre Steve said...: I agree that he won't get the media attention since he was on President Bush's team. But, Tony Snow deserves all the accolades he might get. He was a classy individual! God bless him!; 7/12/08, 2:30 PM
Anonymous said...: Sorry to hear this. He displayed a marvelously engaging personality, at the same time not hiding his viewpoint. As to whether or not his passing is played up as much as Russert's, Snow's has been expected, and the coverage at his resignation was reasonably extensive, while Russert's passing was completely unexpected. I think that there is a tendency to dwell on the unexpected in a search for comfort that is not so urgent when one has had time to accept the inevitable and anticipate its arrival.; 7/12/08, 2:52 PM
Cedarford said...: A guy that was humble, but his own honesty and good nature beamed through as he did his work.

Another poster mentioned Paul Newman, who is far, far to the Left of me - is losing his fight with cancer. There are few celebrities I admire more than Paul Newman.
Paul Newman was in the top 20 on the 1st Chuck Colson Enemy's List (Nixon had no role in it's creation). And at one point used his Hollywood power to try and marginalize other, more conservative Hollywood figures.

But, as a man, he is/was so much more than the legendary "cool" actor of 4 1/2 decades. WWII Navy combat Vet. A true, world class auto racer competitive with the world's best. (He came in second in one Le Mans, is listed in sports records as the oldest driver who was part of a winning tean - Daytona 24 hours, 1995 age 70.) A natural athlete.
Married 50 years to the same woman, Joanne Woodward.
Donated 220 million to charity over the years from his creation with his business manager of "Newman's Own", plus 10s of millions in philanthropy from his and Woodward's personal funds.

Meandered off-topic with Newman, who I met once. Just thinking, like Tony Snow, he is another rare man, not just a celebrity/famous journalist - who will be missed because people sense we are diminished by his loss.; 7/12/08, 3:15 PM
Host with the Most said...: I agree with Randy's assessment.

Tony Snow was a class act and a gentleman. His classic handling of Helen Thomas - a White House Correspondent legend who has fallen into a sad pathetic self-parodying hate-filled shell of her former self - was a example of his greatness.

His kind will always be missed.; 7/12/08, 3:20 PM
Host with the Most said...: From the "To Bolster My Above Point" File:

New York Times Obit on Tony Snow, July 12, 2008:

On June 13, while traveling in Paris with Mr. Bush, Ms. Compton (of ABC News) received another unexpected message from Mr. Snow, who by then was quite sick, she said.

He had heard that Helen Thomas, the 87-year-old veteran White House correspondent with whom he had had some of his most pointed exchanges, was ill. “If in touch, would you please pass on my love,” Mr. Snow wrote.; 7/12/08, 4:16 PM
Anonymous said...: "It's great to love people this much"

Tony Snow
Speaking of his family in an interview with David Gregory
msnbc.com (17:00 mark

It is great, Tony.
It is.; 7/12/08, 4:33 PM
vnjagvet said...: Tony was much too young to die.

Because he was throroughly engaging and without guile or rancor while clearly expressing his political views, he should be held up as an example of what exellent political commentary can be.

Husband, Dad, and genuinely kind human being, he was loved and will be missed -- but remembered with affection and fondness.

I bet he and Russert are having a great time discussing all they have seen.; 7/12/08, 6:17 PM
veni vidi vici said...: I can't believe how young he was.

I always enjoyed his tenure over at FNS; his wryness was great, and he always treated guests of all viewpoints with fairness - and didn't suffer foolishness and evasiveness like so many of his Sunday-show competitors/colleagues.

It was when he was guesting on Rush where you got more of the wryness and "a little more leg" regarding his point of view, but even notwithstanding his stint as W's pressman it's difficult to think of Tony Snow as a "partisan" as the term has come to be understood (i.e. pejoratively).

It's sad when the few people in politics with a genuine bonhomie and sense of humor are passing from the scene. Will be interesting to see in what shape the upcoming generation of media professionals' best and brightest will manifest.; 7/12/08, 7:52 PM
Anonymous said...: A truly sad day.; 7/12/08, 7:54 PM
ron st.amant said...: I remember seeing him on the Colbert Report a month or so ago and he seemed to be so refreshed and beating back cancer. How sad this is.

While Snow and I don't subscribe to a lot of the same politics, he was fascinating to watch in his WH briefings.

In the modern age of politics, with the partisan bleating from both extremes, what is often lost in the discourse is that most people are decent human beings, just with differences of opinion.

Too often the vilification heaped onto public people, while perhaps earned by their policies, is usually carried to their personal lives.

What we forget is that these people have mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, and sons and daughters to whom the person is not White House Press Secretary, but simply Tony, or Daddy.

Cancer is insipid.
No one deserves that fate.
Tony Snow battled it for a lengthy period, several times, and with grace and dignity.

His politics were a piece of him, they did not define him, nor should they to any of us, in my opinion.

We are more than a sum of poilitical ideologies, or a letter beside our names, or a red or blue designation...we are people first, last, and always.

May his family find comfort in the warm embrace of each other and their loved ones.

And Godspeed, Tony.; 7/12/08, 8:25 PM
Joe said...: Tony was a class act.; 7/12/08, 8:35 PM
Ralph L said...: Our shared alma mater used to have an unofficial motto: A Davidson man needs no introduction. No one epitomized that better than Snow.

I'm curious to see what kind of write-up the relentlessly PC alumni magazine gives him.; 7/12/08, 8:37 PM
Tank said...: Well put by Cederford.

RIP Mr. Snow.; 7/13/08, 7:52 AM
MadisonMan said...: There be another outpouring of gushing praise when he dies? Didn't that happen when he left Govt because of his cancer? How many outpourings is a public official allotted?

Russert's death was surprising, and Snow's, despite his comments that he would beat his cancer, wasn't. I think that makes a difference when the media is writing about -- and others are reacting to -- deaths of public officials.; 7/13/08, 10:53 AM
Fen said...: How many outpourings is a public official allotted?

As many as we choose to give him.

Echo vnjagvet and veni. We sure could use more men like him these days.; 7/13/08, 11:08 AM
Original Mike said...: I will miss him greatly. More than any other political analyst, it was Tony who asked the question, or gave the response, that I gave to my TV set in response to his guest.

Bob Beckel told a great story in remeberance of Tony. He and Tony were doing back-to-back speeches at some event. Beckel drank too much the night before and had a hard time writing his talk the next morning. Tony wrote Beckel's talk for him, complete with liberal jokes and attacks!

R.I.P. Tony. There were few like you.; 7/13/08, 9:04 PM
Dionne said...: I couldn't have said it any better!! I was shocked by Russert's death but I didn't spend the weekend watching memorial shows on him, with tears streaming down my face like I did with Tony. The loss of Tony Snow will be felt for a long time to come. He leaves a huge void that cannot be replaced. Our loss is heaven's gain.; 7/21/08, 2:12 AM