Remembering Tony Snow
Posted: Saturday, July 12, 2008 4:20 PM by Ian Sager
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Though I interviewed Tony Snow a number of times via a remote link, I never met him face to face. Like a lot of journalists, however, I had tremendous respect for Tony. As a television commentator he was a thoughtful, engaged, and passionate observer of politics. As White House press secretary, he always presented himself as someone who had great respect for the job we do as reporters, while at the same time serving as a loyal, and effective advocate for the administration's policies.
When the news of his death broke this morning just as we were coming on the air for the TODAY show, my first thought was of the interview David Gregory did with Tony Snow a year ago. Tony talked about his struggle with cancer. He also talked about how it affected his family, and tearfully recounted the words he shared with his children. "I said, look I'm going to bounce your kids on my knee. That's what I'm going to do. And that's what I want to do." But what I remember most from that interview were the simple words that left no doubt as to what was most important to Tony Snow. Words that brought a tear to my eye then, and again this morning. "It's great to love people this much."
David Gregory will be on the broadcast tonight to share more from that interview, and to look back at the life and career of Tony Snow. I hope you join us for tonight's edition of NBC Nightly News.