Bush official says new press secretary will 'pop the bubble that people think there is here'

RAW STORY
Published: Tuesday April 25, 2006

An unnamed Bush Administration official touted the White House's soon-to-be-officially-named replacement for White House press secretary Scott McClellan as a good fit for the job precisely because the Fox News host has often been critical of Bush in the past, according to an article in Wednesday's New York Times.

Tony Snow, who once worked as a speechwriter for the senior President Bush, "is something of a showman, having earned his living in a world in which success hinges upon being provocative," writes Jim Rutenberg.

Think Progress compiled a series of critical quotes from the past by Snow which attacked the Bush Administration, and, according to the Times, "Democrats were already circulating, via e-mail messages," links to the blog.

“George Bush has become something of an embarrassment," Snow wrote in a November of 2005 column, as noted by Think Progress.

"When it comes to federal spending, George W. Bush is the boy who can’t say no," Snow wrote in December of 2003, also noted by the blog.

"When asked about Mr. Snow's more critical comments, the administration official said, 'What better way to pop the bubble that people think there is here,'" writes Rutenberg.

Last September, Time's Mike Allen employed the bubble metaphor to describe the "rigid, insular" Bush Administration, along with many others (Washington Post, Newsweek, Press Think). A Guardian article from November of 2003 also used "bubble" to describe the current atmosphere at the White House.

Further excerpts from Wednesday's New York Times article:

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In the past week, Mr. Snow has also made it clear that he was negotiating for as much access as possible before taking the job. He said in an interview on the Fox News Channel that he was interested in the position because he would be part of "an inner White House circle."

Though White House officials have consistently said that Mr. McClellan has had all the access he wanted, the perception remained among members of both parties that he did not. Either way, the senior administration official who spoke for this article said Mr. Snow would have "walk-in privileges" and an important role in "strategic thinking."

It was unclear when Mr. Snow would start — and even whether the White House would announce his hiring on Wednesday or later in the week. But it seemed likely it would do so before the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on Saturday — when Mr. Snow will either be sitting with his Fox News colleagues, or not.

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