Comments (7)

• Grayson

  ... and why is it that taxpayers must fund a White House "Press Secretary" at all ??

  That 'secretary' is part of the large, full time 'political staff' enjoyed by modern Presidents. They serve (..and owe their loyalty to) individual presidents -- not to the citiizens who pay them.

  The press-secretary's only job is to make his/her boss look good -- by trumpeting any good news & minimizing any bad news involving the boss.

  Taxpayers get only spin for their money.

  Let the President pay for all his political staff... out of his own pocket.

  Published: September 1, 2007 9:44 AM

• lester

  did anyone ever see the Andy Rooney segment on 60 minutes that talked about all the presidents assistants? it was insane. There are dozens of them with titles like "director of leessons learned" and you know "domestic securities director" that dude who tried to rip of Target, Claude Allen , was one of them.
  Cheney travels around with what is basically an entire hospital.

  Published: September 1, 2007 2:56 PM

• F Rollins

  What a distasteful human being. Does he really expect any sympathy when he's making five times the median personal income in the US? "You tax slaves aren't paying me enough." Cry me a river. They should get a communications major to do the job as an intern. I'm sure they'd have thousands of applicants lining up to do it for free.

  Published: September 1, 2007 4:38 PM

• lester

  I find Dana Perino attractive , so whatever excuse he wants to use to step down is A OK

  Published: September 2, 2007 9:50 AM

• IMHO

  It may be that in coming to terms with his own mortality, Snow has realized that, in order to provide for his family, he needs to make as much money in as little time as possible.

  Re the need for a Press Secretary as well as the required qualifications and salary to fill the position...

  Right now, nobody's happy with anything the Bush Administration is doing, so let's pretend that Ron Paul is currently President. :) It would not be practical or even possible for President Paul to personally conduct a press conference every day. However, because he wishes to have transparency in the government, he would want to apprise the American public of the goings on within his Administration on a daily basis. Therefore, the need for a Press Secretary.

  Keeping in mind that the media can behave like a pack of wolves, the Press Secretary would need to be a personable, mature, well-seasoned professional who has excellent communication skills and is able to remain calm and patient in every situation. Putting the wrong person in the job could result in domestic and international problems.

  As for the salary...I'd suggest that it be the same as a comparable positiion in the private sector.

  Published: September 3, 2007 10:20 AM

• Grayson

  ["...Therefore, the need for a Press Secretary."]IMHO
  ________

  Can't a modern President speak for himself to the American citizenry ?

  Presidents prior to FDR managed to survive without any Press Secretary at all. And even FDR managed to run WW II with only a dozen primary White House staffers.

  And what exactly are we paying the White House 'Chief of Staff' & 'Director of Communications' (+ their many assistants) for ...(??) -- if they cannot sometimes speak to the press in lieu of the President.

  White House press conferences are a mere "theater" anyway.

  Published: September 3, 2007 11:13 AM

• gene berman

  Whatever are the pluses and minus and, whether or not the position is "necessary," its somewhat nit-picking and unfair to ridicule Snow's appraisal of his salary versus his needs and obligations.

  He made more money before being offered the position; from his point of view, the decrease in earnings, I am certain, was seen as contribution to his country, not merely to GW or the political party. At present, he had to face the financial effect on his family, including the fact that his future earning power is somewhat questionable (on account of his health).

  We need more grown-ups or at least more who can act like grown-ups.

  Published: September 4, 2007 7:28 PM