Snow won't Drink The Kool-Aid

If he did, could I call him Tony Snowcone?

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has Tony Snow's first interview (after the announcement that he's the new Press Secretary.) Excerpt:

Q [Ken Herman]. Your criticism of him in the past, are you free to keep telling him that kind of stuff now that you are on the payroll?

A [Tony Snow]. Probably not in those exact words.

Q. But the same message? They want to hear it?

A. Yeah. They want people to express their opinions. You'’re not coming here to drink the Kool-Aid. You're coming here to serve the president. And at this particular juncture I think what you want is as much honest counsel as you can get. So when I agree I'’m going to agree but when I disagree I disagree. But on any opinion his vote is the tie-breaker.

Q. On Iraq, you'’re still fully on board with what'’s going on over there?

A. The president is the guy who runs the place. I'’ll speak for him and some other point I'’ll speak for myself. How'’s that?

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the policy he's about to be trying to sell to a skeptical American Public. And Mr. Snow has been a little skeptical himself.

-– Bush has “lost control of the federal budget and cannot resist the temptation to stop raiding the public fisc."” [3/17/06]

-– "“George W. Bush and his colleagues have become not merely the custodians of the largest government in the history of humankind, but also exponents of its vigorous expansion."” [3/17/06]

-– "President Bush distilled the essence of his presidency in this year'’s State of the Union Address: brilliant foreign policy and listless domestic policy." [2/3/06]

- "George Bush has become something of an embarrassment." [11/11/05]

That's all in the past, though, I'm sure. Because how else could someone go from finding the leader oembarrassmentorld "an embarassment" just a few months ago to being his greatest champion?

Tony Snow George W. Bush