Snap Judgment: Tony Snow

I caught about two and a half of minutes of Tony Snow's unveiling as White House Press Secretary. Snow, a journalist best known for his Fox News punditry, was combative and apologetic in his debut.

It has been reported Snow wants to make Press Secretary more of a "policy" position. With that in mind, I couldn't help thinking Snow was struggling between representing the President's agenda and making on-the-spot policy decisions. He seemed like he wanted to say "what he really thought" to his former colleagues. Hence the apologizing, the combativeness and the constipated look on his face.

If these two and half minutes are any indication of how Snow will go about his new job, it will be quite the contrast from Bush's first Press Secretary, Ari Fleischer, who succeeded in taking smug avoidance to its natural conclusion. Fleischer also bore a startling resemblance to then Atlanta Braves' right-hander Greg Maddux.

Bush's second Press Secretary was Scott McClellan. He must have resigned or been fired recently. I've already forgotten everything I knew about him.

But Tony Snow could be an interesting addition. A potential "wild card" if you will.

Maybe I'll be watching more press conferences.