Snow will take over as Bush spokesman

WASHINGTON – Conservative pundit Tony Snow will be named White House press secretary, Republican officials said Tuesday night, in the latest move in President Bush’s effort to remake his troubled White House.

Snow is expected to be named today. He will replace Scott McClellan, who is stepping down in a White House personnel shuffle intended to re-energize Bush’s presidency.

Snow, a Fox News commentator and speech-writer in the White House under Bush’s father, has written and spoken frequently about the current president – not always in a complimentary way.

The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, circulated unflattering observations by Snow about Bush.

“His (Bush’s) wavering conservatism has become an active concern among Republicans, who wish he would stop cowering under the bed and start fighting back against the likes of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Wilson,” Snow wrote last November after Republicans failed to win the governor’s race in Virginia. “The newly passive George Bush has become something of an embarrassment.”

Unofficially, the White House tried to put the best face on Snow’s criticism, suggesting it showed that the administration listens to different voices and noting that Snow’s job called for him to be opinionated.

Snow declined to say whether he had been offered the White House job.

One factor in Snow’s decision was that he had his colon removed last year and underwent six months of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer. He had a CAT scan last week and delayed a decision while he consulted with his doctors.