Tony Snow

This past weekend, Tony Snow died. For those of you who don't know, he was a journalist and former White House Press Secretary. I never knew him personally, but I always enjoyed watching him on TV, listening to him on the radio and reading his columns in the newspaper.

As a journalist, there aren't too many people you can look up to in the industry. Snow, though, was definitely a role model for me. I always enjoyed listening him when he was a regular guest host on the Rush Limbaugh radio program - I actually enjoyed his delivery more than Limbaugh's. The same is true for his recent fill-ins on Bill O'Reilly's radio program - he was just easy to listen to and more enjoyable (for me) than the regular host. Too often, the political debate becomes a personal soapbox where the host's ego gets in the way of making a point. I never got that feeling listening to Snow - he was always on target and had an amazing way of crafting an argument.

When he started the Fox News Sunday program, I was a faithful viewer. Here was a Midwest guy talking to all of the political power players, and he made it seem so easy. There wasn't that East or West Coast haughtiness that you hear in the voices of most TV hosts. He seemed like the guy you'd meet at the grocery store and could chat about anything.

When I became a reporter and (later) an editor, I'd take my best stab at writing opinion columns. While my columns about personal issues came easy, the political ones were always a challenge. Having a discussion with someone on a a topic is much different than being able to write a convincing opinion piece. Whether it was in his columns or the monologue at the end of his TV show, though, Snow had a way of combining policy with personality that few could match.

I was very excited when he took over as press secretary. Now was the time for someone to push back against the press corps - someone who could answer the questions and match wits with them. On the rare occasions I would be able to listen to the press conferences, I felt like I was watching a hockey game - waiting for the gloves to drop and a verbal fistfight to begin. Unfortunately, his battle with cancer cut short his time at the White House, but he set a new standard while he was there.

Sadly, the Associated Press took the opportunity to slam Snow even when they were writing about his death. The snide comments directed at him were completely unprofessional and made me glad I'm no longer in the news business. It's too bad those "reporters" couldn't have taken a page from Snow's book and at least attempt to perform their job with the kind of class he always showed.