Ex-Bush spokesman Tony Snow dies of cancer

Source: MSNBC

WASHINGTON - Tony Snow, a conservative writer and commentator who cheerfully sparred with reporters in the White House briefing room during a stint as President Bush’s press secretary, has died of colon cancer, Fox News reported Saturday. Snow was 53 years old.

Snow, who served as the first host of the television news program “Fox News Sunday” from 1996 to 2003, would later say that in the Bush administration he was enjoying “the most exciting, intellectually aerobic job I’m ever going to have.”

Snow was working for Fox News Channel and Fox News Radio when he replaced Scott McClellan as press secretary in May 2006 during a White House shake-up. Unlike McClellan, who came to define caution and bland delivery from the White House podium, Snow was never shy about playing to the cameras.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25649744 /

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I'll keep my big mouth shut.

He did his job well, lying for war criminals.

Goodspeed Tony..................

I just don't understand the need of so many DUers to obsess over the death of a Republican or somebody with whom they don't agree, getting all bent out of shape by the coverage it gets. One thing we will all have in common is that we will all die. Yes, even Republicans have children and family who love them and will mourn their loss. None of us would be happy to see others delighting in the death of somebody we loved or admired, so why should we do to others what we would not want done to us? It's called empathy, and compassion. You give it unconditionally, not rationed out based on how much you receive.

It's one thing about being respectful, another thing about saying nothing when others try to over-glamorize someone's record. Let's hope the media learned something with Mr. Russert's passing.

It's hardly ever the opportunity to set the record straight since the survivors all have the last word and the deceased can never respond again or defend themselves. Everybody tends to be glamorized after their death. It is rare to see a consensus opinion that, "Oh, he was an asshole". One person's asshole is somebody else's hero.

and pointing out how much damage the recently deceased caused.

Seriously... is pointing out that Bush is responsible for many thousands of deaths mere 'disagreement'? Notsomuch.

I bear Snow no ill-will. I don't think he was a bad person. It's no secret he was a shill, so as long as no one is glorying in his death, what's the problem with talking about both the good and bad aspects of his life?

And you think people should be silent about that just because he died?

FUCK that!

Tony Snow was a sleazebag.

He personally chose to participate in the Bush regime, knowing full well that it had illegally invaded Iraq. It is only unfortunate that he will never get to see his day in court.

I wonder where you go after spending so much of your last years on earth lying?

Simple statement. I think adverse remarks are out of place under these circumstances.

n/t.

And I agree. No death is worth applauding. None.

May Tony rest in peace and may his family be left alone from fools and be surrounded by loving friends as they grieve.

Just sayin'.

I guess it's everybody's own call.

Yep, they are reading these things and merely taking the few out of context just like good nazis that they are..

Fux and Fiends sure do have a short grieving period.

Rush Limbaugh's show as well. He made war crimes palatable.

Everyone dies so we can't look on Snow's death as punishment for his lying... but the temptation is great.

The entire B*sh War Crimes Administration should go on trial.

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everyone rots when they die, including you.

but for those who place their belief in such things, scripture states that death is the reckoning of accountability we all must face for our sins. Specifically:

"For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23

I'm not saying I believe everything I read in sacred texts. It's just interesting, I think, from the standpoint of broad perspective. Condolences to Mr. Snow's family.


"When any person dies, we are all diminished." Elie Wiesel

I think you're dead wrong. He didn't just die. He died long before a man of his age and generation normally would have.

Just more proof that karma really is a bitch.

Karma seems sort of spotty.

I need that on a T-shirt.

Some in the middle. It's a mysterious world we live in.

karma gets you.

His death is the result of cancer, not something that I would wish on anyone!

My condolences to his family, as for him, I got nothing.

Maybe Tony can be the head liar for Jesse Helms

He spent his life spreading lies for big businesses whether than everyday American people. He will have to answer to God.

Former White House press secretary Tony Snow, has died of cancer, US television station Fox News has announced.

Mr Snow, 53, had been suffering from colon cancer, it said.

He resigned as President George W Bush's spokesman in August 2007 - after just 17 months in the job - citing financial reasons.

Since then he had been working as a television commentator. The father-of-three had joined President Bush's team from Fox News TV in April 2006.

An outspoken conservative presenter, he was the first Washington commentator to be appointed to the White House role - replacing Scott McClellan.

He had served as chief speech writer for President George W Bush's father when he was president.

He had also worked as a columnist for USA Today and editorial page editor of the Washington Times.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7503368.stm

I doubt it. Not that he would deserve it either.

Anytime I meet someone new its

"Hi, my name is Rush"

"Oh, like Rush Limbaugh? HARHARHAR"

"Uh..no"

The irony that he and I should live at the same historical moment is a supreme fuck me from the Gods.

no one who hasn't committed any crime other than propaganda, deserves to die from this evil destroyer of families, especially when so much evil persists within the Bush misAdministration.

I know his family will never read this but my heart hurts for them today. It may be a joyous day for many here, but his family just knew him as Father, Husband, Tony.

What is to be gained by celebrating his death? He was merely his master's voice. Condolences to his family. They've had a VERY hard road to travel with this disease and while THAT particular anguish is now over, they face more, of a different sort, from here on.

I never lost anybody to colon cancer or other cancers (in one case, it was incidental to a whole other witch's brew of debilitating and life-snuffing diseases, not just the cancer), but I've seen what grave illness can do - to the victim AND his/her loved ones. It's awful. I wouldn't wish it on george w bush, or dick cheney, even.

Besides, when justice finally comes to them, I'd hope they were still sufficiently well and healthy so that the pain of the sword of that justice stands alone.

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That said, when limbaugh finally meets his maker, for all I know I might feel a little bit differently about the dancing-on-the-grave part. Really can't say, though.

RIP Tony. You can relax now. You're in a place where you don't have to lie or distort anything for any scheming, greedy assholes OR their war-criminal pirate agendas anymore.

Got it in 1996, thought she had it beat, came back with a vengeance in 2002, spread into her lungs, bones, and brain and ravaged her body. She was 62. She was under 100lbs. when she died. It was a horrible death.


Tony Snow was a mouthpiece, and all he did was spread the propaganda for the cause he believed in, just like we do. He should have lived long enough to see his children grow up.

diabetic deaths, longtime congestive heart failure-related deaths, and a bunch of other contributing factors with multiple syllables. But the diabetes was the main killer. AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL!!! And I'm sure that while Tony Snow suffered, he undoubtedly followed all his doctors' orders to the letter. My father, on the other hand, remained in complete defiance til the very end. He would NOT give up his donuts and waffles and candy bars and pastries and salty stuff and the rest of it. Just absolutely, flatly refused. He had a whole slew of doctors whose directives he'd ignore. OY. And my mom remained pretty much in denial along with him.

My mother-in-law developed breast cancer and had a mastectomy, but it came back, too. However, by then, she was already on her way out - dementia, heart trouble, lung trouble, and that lovely "ongoing companion," diabetes. Diabetes is for SHIT.

As I said, AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL!!

I'm sorry about your mother-in-law. My sympathies. You get SOME consolation in the thought that their suffering is over. But yours still continues.

no more brain surgeries allowed at my age. If it comes back again, I do my bucket list.

Be well.

Be well, indeed, dear Dain Bramaged.

It does make you appreciate what you have.

Hugs!

I have puke friends who support the Iraq war to this day, and I would still ball my eyes out if any of them were consumed by this horrible disease. Let's separate the polics from the people. From what I can gather, he was an amazing family man. Anyone like that deserves some respect because they are far fewer than many believe.

I hate assholes. And that includes liberal assholes that mock conservative deaths. I don't want to be like them.

i hated just about everything tony snow stood for, but that has no relevance whatsoever when talking about how his family will be grieving.

he was way too young to go. it's a shame.

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It makes me ashamed of DU when the grave dancers come out.

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A lot of idiots over at fark.com are celebrating Mr. Snow's passing. Different ones also jumped for joy at Ted Kennedy's recent scare. Hell even the freepers weren't that bad. Just because we disagree with the message doesn't mean we should take joy in the death of the messenger.

A good family friend of mine has colon cancer. She just had surgery. No treatment yet but I am sure that is coming. She's only 50.

53 is way too young to die, especially from some horrible disease.

It speak to the smallness of the person's own heart and soul.

Good for you. Not only is it classless. It is extremely bad politics.

I feel no compunction to dance and piss on graves.

My condolences to his family.

If I told some things about what a sleazebag he was in life is that mocking his death? How he enabled this megalomaniacal psychopath for a president by perpetuating lies and obsructing pursuit of the truth at every turn.

I have a big problem with vague terms like you use here.

You can think what you want of Tony. There is a lot of pain in how he went. I am sorry that he didn't live to see the Bush admins actions fixed so that he might have seen a better way.

Tony Snow was a wealthy man and could afford the best of health care. Imagine the prospects of the poor. Would they survive as along as Snow did? Why should we feel sympathy for the family of a man who spent his entire life supporting and defending Conservatism, a political philosophy which would deny medical care to any who can't pay for it?

I care about someones well being regardless of class, wealth, philosophy, race, age, etc. I want health care even for those that would deny me mine. I want education even for those that would turn my child away. I cannot go through my life spitting on the graves of those that disagreed with me. All I can do is wish they had a chance to see what I've seen so they might have changed their minds.

...maybe even a sense of superiority but ignoring the opportunity to force conservatives to consider the horrors of their vile ideology would be foolish.

Will dancing on his grave change any of what has happened? If a Republican came to this forum disillusioned with their party I think they would keep right on going if they saw the kind of celebration that goes on here when a conservative dies. I would want that person to see people ready to have them on our side.

I didn't mention anything along the lines of satisfaction or superiority. I just think these sorts of events generally reflect badly on DU. I don't get any satisfaction about cursing someone ten minutes after their death is announced.

My local hate radio station, right now, is broadcasting call after call from wingnuts who are lionizing Snow. If we let that kind of thing continue, it will become the Snow Legend. In the world of instant information we can't give lies a chance to grow. We have to crush them immediately.

I am not saying that I honor him but the media will and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. So if you feel that trashing him on DU is going to make it better for you then have at it.

This is for those who know the truth. We have to convince them to speak it.

and almost didn't join because of stuff I read like this. We're supposed to be on a HIGHER level than the sickos on the right. Please let us not become them!

I'm a longtime lurker and have posted a few times but this grave dancing is very disturbing to me.

Just as we all have our own opinions and beliefs about how things should be in our nation and in the world, we must also allow other people to have the same privilege, which is what makes our nation great.

I've always thought our democratic party was the party of love and caring for other people. Lately, at least from these forums, that seems to be going by the wayside and that's very bothersome to me.

for the people who've suffered and died because of the policies of the Bush Administration that Tony Snow enthusiastically helped promote?

I think everyone of us who have a heart cry and grieve for every lost life and especially for the families of those who are left behind. He didn't send those kids off to the war. He had a job to do and now he has lost his life to a horrible disease. He left a wife and children behind. As a person who lost his mother as a 12 YO to heart disease, they are not in for an easy time, believe me.

Lots of people died yesterday. Lots of people died of cancer yesterday. Lots of people died young yesterday and left behind families and friends who will miss them terribly. Where are the public expressions of grief and condolence on this forum for all of those people? Why has Tony Snow been singled out for special consideration? Is it because a lot of people on here actually knew him? No. Is it because they loved what he stood for? Not likely.

And saying that he "had a job to do" lets him off the hook far too easily. His job (to spin, dissemble and lie through his teeth every day to justify Bush administration actions and policies) was in no way forced on him. It was one he accepted freely and carried out enthusiastically.

........apart from being mad at Tony Snow for doing his job and believing in what he believed in - just like you. I really feel sorry for you for that.

I'm sure a lot of people have gone out and spoken for Barack Obama - because that is what they believe in - but they didn't make the news, either. That's life. So many things in this life are so far out of our control.

One thing is for sure - I'm not sure I can bring myself to be a part of a group of people who are so invested in hatred. There seems to be plenty of that to go around here.

If this is representative of the democratic party, I'm not sure I want to identify myself as such.

If you think that the things Tony Snow believed in politically are just as valid and worthwhile as the things that Barack Obama or Al Gore or Russ Feingold believe in, this probably isn't the place for you. And yes, I DO have other issues...starting with a Bush administration that sent thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis to their deaths (with Tony Snow's active and enthusiastic support) in an unnecessary military action designed only to enrich them and their cronies. If that doesn't make you deeply angry, then you're probably in the wrong place, though what the right place would be for someone like that, I can't imagine.

We see that every time tragedy befalls someone with whom we disagree.

those people have the blood of tens of thousands on their hands

Snow died in a bed surrounded by his loved ones.
The Iraqis whose murders Snow justified and justified and justified never had that luxury.

And I may not visit this site again because of the vile grave dancing that goes on. It reminds me of the scenes from the middle east after 9/11. If this is what the Democrat Party has become, I may just leave it.

nice knowing u.

You have learned through your life experience and maybe through the help of family and friends how to have a happy life. In times of peril, people come to the reality, that your way is the only way.

of wisdom.

I don't mourn him but I almost lost my dad to the same killer and won't celebrate his death.

I smell bullshit!!

I know I don't have a high post count but I have been registered for a long time and I read this site everyday. I can't spend more then 10 seconds on the FReeper's site without feeling the urge to vomit.

I'm sorry for Snow's family. Colon cancer is a horrible way to go. I wonder if like Lee Atwater he got religion at the end. His wealth and gold plated insurance could not save him. However, without the wealth and insurance he would have been dead a lot sooner. Let's remind ourselves that America is the only nation that runs health care as a business. You'd think that the conservative ass hats would get the message.

Feel free to "exploit" his health care experience as an example of the "two Americas", but that doesn't mean we can't have sympathy for him or his family. Just because the situation is worse for thousands (or even millions) of Americans doesn't mean it was good for Tony Snow or his family and friends. Sometimes, all the money in the world can't cure cancer - or even stop the pain and suffering associated with it.

It is sad that Tony Snow died so young. He had access to the best healthcare in the world to give him a fighting chance. It is also sad that thousands of Americans each year also deal with this disease, and many of them do not have the same access to healthcare.

"Why should we feel sympathy for the family of a man..."

Compassion, being limitless is only wasted when not used. Additionally, my compassion for another's misery is not predicated on thier compassion for me.

I have no qualms with anyone who decides to forgo compassion and sympathy for the dead and the ill, but to advertise absurd justifications denying that most basic of hman emotions should be (I think) relegated to other venues under different circumstances-- otherwise, we become mirror images of Fred Phelps.

Any emotion we feel toward another person is never "forced" on us (e.g., "he *made* me angry..."), rather, it's always a choice we alone make (e.g., "I *allowed* myself to get angry justified by his action").

he was what he was, just another cog in the GOP machine...but that said, i always felt tony was a nice guy even while yelling at the TV.

I have nothing but sympathy and wishes for peace for his family.

Very sad.

He'd been looking really ill for a long time. My condolences to his family - I hope his last days were comfortable at least. I wasn't a fan, but that's an awful way to die.

When I first saw the headline, for some reason I thought it said Tony Blair had died, which really startled me.

I didn't care much for his politics or his defense of Bush, but it is a shame that this dreaded disease has taken his life at 53. May he have peace and my condolences to his family.

They did nothing wrong and are grieving now.

I'm sorry that anyone dies in this manner. Cancer is a terrible way to go...

Still, if there is a Hell, there's a special seat with Tony Snow's name on it.

If there is Karma, perhaps he will be reincarnated as someone who can only tell the truth no matter what kind of trouble it gets him into.

Can we get some REAL cancer CURES now?

But, researchers ARE trying to continue on. One of my big hopes is that once we have a Dem in office, a push can be made to restore funds.

We're going to be tripping over the remains of Bush's blow-out for years. Start with global climate change and work your way down the list. We are so close to real cures and treatments for so many diseases. Bush's cuts have condemned thousands, if not millions to unnecessary pain and death. It'll be like getting TB in 1943 before the right antibiotics were found.

And the most insidious thing about it is that this year they didn't "technically" cut anything, they froze the budget which, over the last five years with inflation, increased research costs, and previous cuts and freezes, is equal to billions of research dollars lost. There's a whole lot of promising research avenues that just AREN'T being pursued because the money just isn't there. I personally know 5 investigators who have left the country in order to seek out better funding. Researchers are scared, even in my field (cancer research) which has fairly secure non-governmental funding sources (foundations, etc). Without NIH funding, though, a lot is being cut back on. It provides a backbone for researchers to build upon, and without that, the piecemeal grants they get from other sources just don't cover costs.

etc etc etc

I cannot bring myself say anything bad about his life. I loved throwing shit at the teevee and screaming at all the stupid things he said.

Truthfully, i will miss him.

I'm so sorry to hear that. I was hoping he would be able to fight it back into remission.

May his family find peace, and may his soul as well.

I'm sure the stress of his lies hastened his condition. That is all.

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terribly sad

“The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones.”

-William Shakespeare

Although being a cheer leader for evil, his family deserves the kindness and respect that anyone else should.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=tmFXLxAVsw0

I don't mean that in a nasty way. My 50 yo BIL died suddenly in May. No one was expecting it, and my sister is still in shock. On the other hand, when my father died 2 1/2 yrs. ago, we had 6 weeks from the time of his diagnosis to his death to adjust to the thought that he wasn't going to be with us for long.

Until the death of my BIL, I always said that when it's my time, I want to go quickly (I still say that I don't want to linger unresponsive on life support). I wanted to go real quick. After helping my sister through this though, imo, I'd rather have at least SOME time to say goodbye, to make sure everything is in order, and so on.

I don't think I'm explaining this well, so in a nutshell, I mean that I now believe that a wish for a sudden, painless death is selfish. Of course, very few of us have any choice in the matter.

So anyway, back to the OP.

RIP Tony. Now you know the truth of what your former employers did, and maybe you can help them from beyond to do the right things in the little time they have left in office.

Wishes of comfort and peace to his family.

Snow seemed like a descent guy on personal level. I'm sorry for his family and friends' loss.

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