- Daily Photo: Obama Jokes Around at G-20
- Blackwater gets replaced in Iraq
- Daily Photo: U.S. Marines Look Out for Taliban in Afghanistan
- Hillary Clinton the Tomboy and Her "Ah-Ha" Moment
- Obama Administration Sudan Envoy Headed to Region
- Daily Photo: Potential Flashpoint in Iraq
- Clinton Says New Afghanistan-Pakistan Plan Depends on Diplomacy
- Exclusive: Three Israeli Airstrikes Against Sudan
- Additional 4,000 Troops to Be Ordered to Afghanistan
- Daily Photo: Navy Submarine Trains in the Arctic
- Alarm Over North Korea Missile Prep
- Anti-Terror Stimulus? US Offers Rewards for Top Terrorists
- Daily Photo: Pakistani Women in Refugee Camp
- Condoleezza Rice Appears on "The Tonight Show"
- Diplomat and Aid Group Sound the Alarm on Darfur Camp Situation
- auto industry rescue
- Ballotwatch
- Biden, Joe
- Bush, George W.
- Clinton, Bill
- Clinton, Hillary
- Dodd, Chris
- Edwards, John
- Giuliani, Rudy
- Gravel, Mike
- Huckabee, Mike
- Hunter, Duncan
- Inauguration
- Iraq
- Kucinich, Dennis
- McCain, John
- Obama, Barack
- Palin, Sarah
- Paul, Ron
- Romney, Mitt
- Tancredo, Tom
- Thompson, Fred
- Veepstakes
- Vote 2008: Democrats
- Vote 2008: Republicans
- Washington
- White House
« Previous | Main | Next »
Tony Snow's Behind the Scenes Comments on Iraq
Email
ShareOctober 18, 2006 1:56 PM
ABC's Jessica Yellin Reports: Before departing for North Carolina, Tony Snow took the time to schmooze in the press room.
Pressed about deteriorating security conditions in Iraq, he pressed us to look at the positive -- namely Maliki and his efforts to crack down on bad actors. He said the White House is aware of the latest casualty figures and is deeply disturbed by them, but Snow kept pivoting back to Maliki, explaining "it must be his [Maliki's] calculation now that this is the time to go after them" and "we'll see how long it takes to get them out of the system."
He said the president is not aware of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's Dallas Morning News ed board comments supporting possible partition in Iraq, but Snow said the president flatly opposes partition because the administration has examined that option and determined it would fail. He said Maliki opposes it as well.
Commenting on Thomas Friedman's New York Times op-ed piece, which posits the current violence in Iraq could be this war's equivalent of the Tet Offensive, in which the images of violence and the insurgent's savvy use of the media turned public sentiment decisively against the Vietnam War.
Snow said, "I think Friedman may be right, but we'll have to see." It's possible that Snow meant that the insurgents would wage an increasingly fierce PR war; or maybe he meant that the image of Americans being attacked would turn the public against the war in Iraq. We've asked for clarification. In any case, that's probably not in the White House talking points.
Snow said the president believes the Republicans will hold on to the House and Senate, adding that "the president is a commanding figure on the political scene." The press secretary apparently wants us to know the president's still got it.
The White House has not decided where Potus will be election night.
And Snow told Ann Compton one of the reasons the president isn't making more campaign visits for Republicans is because it's just too expensive for local congressman to bring Bush to town (they cover his expenses and use hard money to do it). You've got to wonder if that's the only reason they're not jumping at the chance to be seen with this "commanding figure on the political scene."
October 18, 2006 | Permalink | User Comments (8)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
In his next meeting with the press, it seems that Mr. Snow should simply play the most pertinent lyrics from the Johnny Mercer song when asked about Iraq: "Ac-cent-uate the Positive./ E-lim-i-nate the Negative./ Latch on to the a-fir-ma-tive,/ And don't mess with Mr. In-Between." It might not be any more revelatory than his current line of responses, but it would probably be a lot more entertaining.
Posted by: chuck | Oct 18, 2006 3:13:01 PM
Vietnam is spelled Iraq in arabic.
Posted by: rdf | Oct 18, 2006 6:41:49 PM
Mr. Snow is giving all Americans a snow job with all the doublespins of his authorized press conferences justifying Pres. Bush's insane decisions on every issue this year.
It's time that every voter contact his Congressperson and Senator and demand his Impeachment for all the disasters he has created on the National Scene due to his basic incompetence.
Adam.
Posted by: Adam Young | Oct 18, 2006 9:07:29 PM
Snow can't (won't) define what a 'win in Iraq' would be. Then a couple days later says Bush is committed to nothing short of a 'win in Iraq' and no one of the MSM calls him on it? stop looking at Snow's behind and face him straight on and call him on his Snow-jobs
Posted by: rucka | Oct 18, 2006 11:23:00 PM
What kind of a person can defend a person who can't be defended, an idiot
Posted by: dave fenner | Oct 19, 2006 7:59:05 AM
Poor Tony Snow. He sees the tidal wave coming against his inept boss, and all he can do is desperately, failingly, try to spin, spin, spin. :(
Must be a tough job. But since he's an ideologue, I don't really feel sorry for him. He made his bed, he can lie in it.
Here's looking forward to a Democratic House (and possibly Senate) come 2 1/2 weeks from now.
Posted by: lee | Oct 20, 2006 12:47:17 PM
Tony Snow what do you know. Who can believe Tony Snow? He was hired to make the lies sound better. Can we expect the Truth from his mouth. He came from the Fox New Ch. who has been giving the American People the spin on everything. Now I watch CNN and boy now my eyes are wide open. I can't believe what I was missing.
Posted by: Julie Kelley | Oct 24, 2006 12:16:33 AM
It makes me wonder why people would only want one side of a story, Tony Snow is paid to tell the Administrations point of view, it is the media and the voters who should seek the other sides version. Once upon a time everyone said the world was flat. Give Tony a break. No matter what side of the fence your your political views tilt, dont be a sheep! Vote informed or for values, or dont vote at all. Your vote is your right. And to an earlier post, CNN , are you SERIOUS?
Posted by: Carl in Wisconsin | Oct 25, 2006 11:41:01 PM
Post a comment
