From The Washtington Post: Tony Snow's Washington Merry-Go-Round by Howard Kurtz.
In the summer of 1996, Tony Snow, a former speechwriter for the first President Bush and the brand-new host of "Fox News Sunday," welcomed to the program George Stephanopoulos, a top political adviser to President Clinton.The interview went smoothly enough, but some conservatives were mad at Snow because he didn't press his guest hard enough.
In 1996, White House adviser George Stephanopoulos departs a Fox News set before the Republican convention as host Tony Snow looks on. Now, Stephanopoulos hosts ABC's "This Week" and Snow has moved to the White House.Ten years later, Stephanopoulos is a Sunday morning talking head for ABC News and Snow is the newly anointed spokesman for Bush's son, both of them having whizzed through the fastest-spinning door in Washington.
The trek from politics to journalism and back again has become so commonplace that nobody bats an eyelash anymore, except for some media traditionalists who believe that their business should not become a refuge of former spokesmen, strategists and spinners. But when someone like Snow makes a second trip across the divide, the issues get more complicated. How, for instance, does he wave away his previous criticism of the president he now serves?
"It's an interesting and legitimate question," Snow says. "You've got to do a lot of thinking about going from journalism to a political role."
To see more Newsmaker Caricatures by John Cox, click here.
Posted by Forkum at May 1, 2006 10:03 PM
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