Thanks, John.

Here's the link to John's wonderful piece on Tony Snow:

http://tinyurl.com/5643p7

Melissa,

I wrote a similar item on Tony Snow that's in the Executive Communication page of Ragan.com. Now I almost hope no one sees it. For what it's worth, I wouldn't have agreed with him on anything political (my dad used to send me copies of his columns from the Detroit Free Press, and I never thought much of them) but I agree with your opinion of him as a decent guy and I don't see anything wrong with sharing that in a blog.

Sorry, Jon. Surely blinded by my own hypocrisy, I don't (yet) see your point.

MY point is that when we're publicly discussing public figures whose words and actions had a massive effect on the public, we ought to spend more time discussing the PUBLIC contribution that history will remember, rather than their personal style, which only a tiny handful who knew them will remember.

I also thought there was too much of this "he was such a nice guy and a good dad" focus on the Tim Russert story, and less "well, what was he trying to ACCOMPLISH with all this talent of his"?

After all, a lot of nice guys died in the last month, who we aren't mourning publicly.

We mourn Russert and Snow because they were public figures. So the appropriate question is, what will be their lasting public legacy? WHAT, EXACTLY, IS IT THAT WE ARE ALL MOURNING?

"Now I have to applaud the fact that he wore blue jeans and was the nicest asshole in the Asshole Industry?"

Hello kettle? This is David Murray. You're black!

@Melissa - Don't tell the rest of your readers, but I'm a Democrat (you're shocked, I'm sure). As a group, we're conditioned to being overconfident early, losing when it comes to the wire and having to be gracious in an attempt to save face. I think the party asked the rank-and-file if they'd consider working that into a mission statement and somebody said, "Yes, we can." The focus for 2008 shifted at that point when somebody picked up that phrase and ran with it.

But I digress. I'm pleased you opted to share the Giordano's with your colleagues. Good karma banking for when you need help on projects or vacation coverage later. Plus, doesn't it feel good to be nice to others? Tony Snow seemed to understand that. Maybe others in Washington who looked up to him will pick up that torch as the more venal and vile personalities along the Potomac retire or resign. We can always hope for the best even if prudence mitigates our optimism, right?

Melissa thanks for sharing your thoughts and pizza.

There are too many chicken shits that take shots with their posts and bail, but not you Eric, kudos on being a stand up guy.

That's the best pizza I've had in quite a while, Eric. Can't wait to enjoy the next one. Thanks Melissa!!

Pizza.

Good.

Dear Eric,

The pizza was so good.

Love,

Another Raganite.

Eric,

Thank you for the delicious Chicago-style Pizza you awarded Melissa. She was kind enough to share with some of her fellow co-workers and we really enjoyed it.

You are indeed a man of your word!

Rebecca

Eric,

Thank you for the deep dish pizza! Melissa was
kind enough to share with her co-workers.

Any other stories you two can go at? I smell
Chicago Hot dogs!

I'd like to thank Melissa for sharing a great pizza and Eric for supplying it. I'd also like to thank both of them for a debate that was argued about facts and resolved by them. That's a good main course.

Eric,

Thanks for the deep-dish pizza!

I still disagree with you but I appreciate the fact that you are a man of your word.

-Melissa

Eric Jones, I like your style. Melissa, thanks for sharing!

Can't beat a surprise pizza ...
Morgan

I happen to like the piece, and thought it was appropriate for this blog. A blog is always a place to write about one's thoughts and ideas. If your idea was to write about Tony Snow, then more power to you. It's your blog, do whatever you want.

I enjoyed reading Melissa's comments regarding Tony Snow. In fact, it's the only link I chose to follow from the list in the e-mail. It sounds to me like the comments are based on something other than reflections on the rare chance to have met someone who was very successful in his field, and apparently happened also to be a truly decent human being. Unfortunately, a situation less common than one would hope.

Geez, and they say the media's liberal.

@David -- We're in the business of words, you and I. You might taunt me about my grammatical errors instead of my political leanings. They are not what I laid my arguments upon (damn -- ending with a preposition there!) I said as much that Tony Snow was good at what he did -- especially if you consider the crowd he ran with.

http://tinyurl.com/tony-snow-lies

On the other hand, any fair assesment will show he also lied for his bosses, which is not what most PR pros consider good form. It doesn't matter who you work for, honesty is almost always the best policy, right?
Anyway, I wasn't being partisan. By insinuation, I attacked the guests of Fox News (a nonpartisan organization, right?), Melissa's choice to blog on what she did where she did, and the act of lying by White House flacks. (I'm happy to defile the acts of immoral Democrats anytime the subject merits. Melissa's in Chicago. Come up with some news about Dan Rostenkowski or Richard Daley and I promise to let the epithets pour forth.)

Anyway, Snow's death is truly a shame. He was uniquely civil in a particularly rough business. He would have provided an important part of the conversation this year on CNN.

@Melissa -- noon Tuesday, buon appetito.

And I guess defending the Clinton White House was any different?

David and Eric -- the guy was good at what he did. So quit being so partisan! As PR people we don't always agree with our companies or their decisions or their policies -- but we do our jobs nonetheless. He did his just about as good as anyone.

Melissa, Not to quibble, but … Well, yes, to quibble.
1) You (in your follo) write that Tony said it has been a dream job. That’s different than saying it was always his dream job. I have a dream job, but I never dreamed I’d be doing this when I was in college.
2) It might have been more prudent to say “he called the White House post his dream job” in your original post. Your statement assumes what is in his head. I was a journalism major and that’s just a big no-no for us.
3) You didn’t address my point that the tone of your post – lovely though it may be – is just out of place in the PR Junkie blog. Post or tweet your laments to your own pages. Tony’s legacy of civility merits recognition on the blog, as does a fair critique of his public relations career. There’s no denying his former post’s influence on the perception of what we all do for a living, after all.

As for the comment about politics, I feel you’re again (deliberately?) missing the point. I don’t think I brought any charges of bad politics to your door. I charged you with bad blogging. I also don’t ask anyone to defend the Bush White House -- or the Clinton White House for that matter. I have opinions that are relevant (even if not always welcomed) regarding how professionals advance their messaging via responsible, effective means. That’s all.

RE: the P.S. it’s lunchtime out West, but too late for you there. I’ll feed you tomorrow. At least you seemed to take the Woodward and Bernstein of getting two sources to attest to the hypothesis.

Politics aside, this post is simply a memory about a nice person.

And, for the record, Tony did publicly and privately talk about enjoying the job. "This job has really been a dream for me," Snow said.

He didn't have to be convinced by Bush -- he had to get the OK from his doctors. That was the hold-up during the week of rumors leading up to the official announcement. I interviewed him myself and that's what he told me. Other political insiders confirmed that as well.

Also, I didn't write this post to get slammed with political commentary or defend the Bush White House.

p.s. Eric -- I usually do Subway for lunch but since you'll be buying, I would prefer some Chicago deep-dish pizza. Thanks!

Tony Snow will be remembered as the Bush Press Secretary tell quantitatively the fewest lies in raw number. But some of his lies were among the greatest in magnitude of this presidency -- and that will also be remembered.
Yes, Tony Snow, was a likeable fellow, the rare Republican on record as opposing the death penalty. He also served as a voice of occasional reason and restraint among the sweaty, twitchy maniacs that frequently guested on Fox News.
But, Melissa, your post, while admirably long on compassion in a time you've lost someone who mattered to you, is just poorly placed on the PR Junkie blog. You might have noted his death, your regret at his loss and asked for user comments on his professional record.
I have to say, also, you're just plain wrong to state the White House gig was his dream job. He had to be convinced by Bush himself to take it and had conditions to be met before he accepted. I really encourage you to contact White House Press Corps reporters who knew Tony as both pundit and flack (though the two were sometimes indistiguishable). The White House gig was a sacrifice he made, not a dream job. I'll bet you lunch you can't find a person in the gaggle to tell you different.

Oh for the love of Pete.

Last night I heard Andy Card talk about how he saw Tony Snow pick up a piece of trash near the White House "when he thought nobody was looking." Now I have to applaud the fact that he wore blue jeans and was the nicest asshole in the Asshole Industry?

Let Tony Snow's family and close friends adore him for what appears to have been a warm and loving personality. Publicly, let's evaluate the much more debatable content of his public contribution, and let's question why anybody would consider defending this White House a "dream job."