RIP Tony Snow
Aw, man, this is not the first story I wanted to see when I opened my news feed today. Tony Snow, former White House Press Spokesman, columnist, reporter, television and radio show host, conservative par excellence, musician, husband, and father, passed away today at the age of 53. He has been fighting cancer for a couple years and finally succumbed to it. I’m genuinely taken aback by this. When last I saw him, he had made a strong fight back against the cancer inside him and seemed to be progressing. I had not realized that he was as sick as he apparently was.
Snow was one of the few people I would stop and listen to whenever I heard him speaking. He was entertaining and whip-smart and he always spoke as if he was having a genuine conversation with the audience. He rarely seemed interested in ramming his point down your throat but in convincing you, gently but firmly, of the truth of what he was saying. I admired him greatly.
As the Press Secretary for the White House, he was truly in his element. He handled the contentious and often testy press corps with elan, calling them on their frequent bloviations and giving them the information they needed instead of letting them draw the blood they wanted. He was a refreshing change over the likes of the stammering Scott McClellan.
What a lot of folks don’t know is that he was quite the musician. He played several different musical instruments pretty well and he was in a band called “Beats Workin’”. Here’s a clip of the band via Michelle Malkin:
It’s impossible for me not to admire someone who so obviously loved making music and did such a good job of it.
Ed Morrissey also had a personal tribute here. Snow was a gracious man who took the time to treat people with respect and care. He was, by every account, a genuinely good man.
Lastly, and to me most importantly, Tony was a Christian whose faith informed every part of his life. He was not shy about sharing his beliefs and he seemed to live what he believed. I think, from what I’ve seen, that today he rests in the hands of God who welcomed him home with “well done thou good and faithful servant”.
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Category: In Memoriam
I cried when I heard the news this morning. You could just tell he was a genuinely nice man. He will be missed. Prayers to his wife and kids. RIP Tony.
jewells, you will definitely not want to read the post I"m going to write in just a little while.