Tony Snow on His First Press Gaggle: "This is Just a Mess"

By E&P Staff

Published: May 12, 2006 11:40 AM ET

NEW YORK Ending his first week on the job on a chaotic note, White Hosue Press Secretary Tony Snow on Friday conducted his first informal "press gaggle" this morning, but had to admit when it went awry, "This is just a mess."

It followed two days of Snow counter-attacks on press coverage of the administration. After complaining earlier in the week about articles in The New York Times, USA Today and on CBS News, he added the Associated Press and Washington Post to the hit list on Thurday.

Snow has not scheduled a formal press briefing until Monday but attempted the more informal morning "gaggle" today. After scheduling it for 9:00, he switched it to 9:30 -- then began at 9:15, causing protests.
"Well, I apologize," Snow said. "That's just flat my fault."

Then he had to admit he did not know enough to answer some questions, and referred others to deputy press secretary Dana Perino. She spoke so softly he had to intervene, reading some talking points from a sheet of paper. "As the new kid on the block, I'm not fully briefed on the issue," he said.

Meanwhile, the press was unhappily crammed into the tight quarters of his West Wing office instead of the usual briefing room, leaving some out in the hall. "This is just a mess," he acknowledged good-naturedly.

Earlier, on Thursday, Snow had criticized the AP for a story headlined: “Army Guard, Reserve fall short of April recruiting goals.” The White House countered: “The Army National Guard, Air Force Reserve, and Marine Corps Reserve all have exceeded or achieved their year-to-date recruitment goals.” That did not address the April numbers, however.

The White House also noted that the Washington Post ran an editorial calling Bush’s tax cuts “a windfall for the rich” on Thursday, the same day it published a news article saying the measure would aid the middle class.

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Post slams Bush press sec's first briefer - Full briefing