tony snow

tony snow

On my first day as White House communications director back in July 2006, I stuck my head in Tony Snow’s office to say hello. He bounded from behind his desk and said, “Come on — I want to show you something.”

Tony, who had been press secretary for a little over two months, led me out of the West Wing and up the driveway toward the Northwest Appointments Gate. “I do this almost every day,” he said. When we got close to the Secret Service guardhouse on Pennsylvania Avenue, Tony instructed me to turn around and look back at the North Portico of the White House. “Look at that,” he gushed. “Isn’t that neat? That’s where we get to work. When I worked here the first time, for President Bush 41, I was too young and too stupid to appreciate it. This time I’m not going to take it for granted or forget what a privilege it is.”Tony went on to explain that before we knew it, we’d all be back outside the gates on Pennsylvania Avenue looking through the fence with the tourists. “And you don’t want to be out there with any regrets, so you’ve got to give it everything you’ve got every day.”