The White House press corps has been through a lot of late, and Tony Snow's arrival has added to the angst.
David Gregory is the poster boy for all that has afflicted this august body of fork tongued tipsters.
Mr. Gregory, having experienced a heated melt-down in front of Mr. McClellan some time ago, experienced a rather messy affair on the Imus show shortly afterward, having phoned in from an obscure location in India, purportedly on a pay phone, and slurred through a series of nearly incomprehensible mutterings, eventually cutting himself off.
Imus, used to all manner of monkey shines and tomfoolery, and his staff, alert to every nuance, combined the mention of intoxicating spirits, Mr. Gregory's actions, and his baffling speech, further sullying a retrograde reputation.
Even Helen Thomas, who has silently suffered for so many lamentable lustrums, while writhing in her front row seat, has had the reproachful spirit move her into a series of wildly vindictive attacks on Mr McClellan as well, actually trading barbs with the President, tut-tutting away at him like an enraged Rhode Island red hen.
and the Washington based journalists have also endured their fair share of the tribulations of Golgotha, visited on them by the demonizing myrmidons of the right, leading them into the tender ministrations of leading psychologists in the ongoing efforts to rebuild their shattered egos, resulting from the stables of horrors encountered in their daily coverage of the current administration.
No, today's Washington area is a free fire zone for any serious progressive liberal propagandizing wordsmith, cub or wizened commentator, and they are routinely paying a heavy personal price for the saucer shallow coverage they dish up.
and now, no longer content to merely bullyrag these helpless victims of divergent political thought, the White House has announced that a member of the Fox New staff, an individual who has successfully managed his own talk show on satellite radio, a known purveyor of conservative views before his selection, a former member of a previous Republican administration, Mr Tony Snow has been named the new White House press secretary.
It is so unfair.
In the selection of Mr. Snow there exists a second series of vexations for the sorely pressed newshounds--it also appears that Mr. Snow is glib, popular, outgoing, well dressed, inherently happy, courageous and may not buckle beneath an extended, pointed and preposterous perlustration.
Nope, Mr. Snow may just be able to gather himself together long enough, to keep his head while they are losing theirs, to withstand their most determined and outrageous assaults on his character, speech inflections, statements, historical facts, family life, tie colors and patterns, hair style, colloquialisms, dialects and the other riveting areas of concern for the swaggering bravos in the corps.
already, on Fox's Day Side a DNC spokes person has worried about Mr. Snow's honesty and whether he can act as an honest broker of the facts, sounding like a fluttering Joe Friday on a case.
Soon, all the talking heads, from the New York Times, including the perkster, Katie Couric, to the daily yawps, like Chris Matthews, will be sounding off on Mr. Snow, and it will be interesting to see what the "official" term to describe him will be.
With the ball already rolling on honesty and honest broker, it may revolve around these words. But whatever it is, everybody will be using it at the same time, very soon, on every progressive show worth its salt and pepper.
Regardless, Mr. Snow, will add gravitas to the White House message, before he becomes a scapegoat, after he loses his head.
Nevertheless, the news of Mr. Snow's arrival has fallen on the pen drivers' pencils like a shock wave experienced in a 6.4 La earthquake and they'll be on the phone figuring out what to say and when to start the slow roast, or the high rolling boil, or whatever, filling the quiver with the arrows that will mark his first appearance at the podium.
Every member of the White House press corps will be up early on that first introductory day, shaking out the cobwebs, eating a good breakfast, or at least what passes for one today, slapping their cheeks, taking the special memory pills, putting the shrink's card in the shirt pocket, walking the dogs, jogging, memorizing questions, looking at the Snow family photo, and getting ready for that first Texas cage match.
Nobody wants to be left in the lurch on national TV when Tony Snow first blinks in the lights.
and for Mr Snow? It's just another day.
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