The New York Observer: Tony Snow is... Max Headroom!

[Radio_Lady]

Live and Direct, Tony Snow Is the New Face—and Hair—of the White House



By Rebecca Dana

Tony Snow, the Fox News talking head and presumptive White House press secretary, already has a nickname among some members of the Washington press corps: “Max Headroom.”

Mr. Snow, in other words, is wholly a creature of television—the first TV personality to become a lead White House spokesman.

“It’s sort of the obvious elevation of style over substance,” said Julie Mason, a White House correspondent for the Houston Chronicle. “Not that he doesn’t have substance, but they do seem to be going with flash over someone who’s a little wonkier. Usually that’s done in a more sleight-of-hand, subtext way, not like, ‘Here’s a guy with great hair.’”

But daily White House press briefings are now live broadcasts, carried on C-Span, picked up on cable news channels, rerun on the evening news and frequently given a final airing on The Daily Show. So why not have a TV guy anchor them?

Great hair—thick, fluffy, a graying Ken doll’s hair—is just one of Mr. Snow’s broadcast virtues. A former speechwriter for George H.W. Bush and a popular radio host, he is full of Southern charm and colorful language. On his April 19 show, Mr. Snow said that in dealing with the media, the exiting White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, “has been clubbed like a baby seal.”

MORE AT LINK ------> http://www.observer.com/20060501/20060501_Rebecca_Dana_media_nytv.asp

[Canuckistanian]

1. Hmmmm......

[Radio_Lady]

8. Separated at birth -- Max Headroom and Tony Snow!

Thanks for the photos -- together again!

[Erika]

2. A conservative Ken doll

Priceless. It reminds one of Trent Lott.

[Radio_Lady]

4. Another DUer suggests that the Press Secretary will be known as...

"Phony Tony"

[madokie]

21. Its going to be hard to watch any press briefings now, then again

I'm sure that is the plan anyway. If you can't get anyone to counter the Helens and Davids go with someone no one can watch.

[Radio_Lady]

23. Does "The Snow" start on May 8th? We'll be packing for our European trip!

[Radio_Lady]

24. Y'know how Donald Trump is referred to as "The Donald" --

I have no idea why.

[Radio_Lady]

25. We should refer to "The Snow" -- makes for great quotes.

They would almost sound encrypted.

"The Snow is a complete flake. He says that Bush is on his way to better poll numbers."

"Bush gives The Snow his biggest boost yet. Then, The Snow falls flat through the summer."

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. "And while he hasn’t racked up Peabodys during his decade at Fox News,

he has been a loyal soldier in the Roger Ailes army."

:rofl:

Who needs a Peabody, when you can just sell yourself to the Devil and receive.... :shrug: virgins in heaven?

[Radio_Lady]

7. Here's a question: Do female suicide bombers get MALE virgins in heaven?

If so, it'll be like that old joke.

WOMAN: "Last night, I had sex with an 18-year-old guy. I think he was a virgin. He didn't know what he was doing... but he did it all night long!"

We demand equal treatment!

[madokie]

22. it just takes all night to do what I used to do all night, couldn't resist

:rofl:

[Swamp Rat]

5. They are one and the same.

:D

[tridim]

6. "To the max"

i-i-i-i can't comment on an on going invest-t-t-t-gation.

Did anyone else love that show? I watched it religiously back in the day.

[Swamp Rat]

29. i-i-i-i-d-d-d-did

See post #27

:D

edit: here's a companion to post #27

[ConsAreLiars]

9. That is far too high a compliment.

Obviously, they never saw the series, or if they saw it, never understood it. Far too prescient to last.

(edit out extraneous word)

[Radio_Lady]

12. You may be correct; however, one Max Headroom web site points

to many things that are now or could eventually be similar between these two "pseudopersons", in my opinion.

From the Max Headroom Chronicles at ----> http://www.maxheadroom.com/mh_c_why.htm

Max Headroom was a phenomenon, no question about it - but a brief phenomenon, and one as inextricably tied to its era as "I Love Lucy" and "The Brady Bunch" were to theirs. Max Headroom is, though, a phenomenon that transcended the barriers of mere television, became one of the most recognizable and imitated characterizations in TV history, and did more to blur the line between reality and fiction, between reality and television, than almost any other fictive creation in modern times.

For a while, Max was ev-ev-everywhere. The television series. The US talk show. Imported glimpses of the British talk show. TV specials. The cover of Newsweek. And, of course, one of the biggest and most radical advertising campaigns in history. (Which failed; people did c-c-catch the wave, but soon let it go, too.) And parodies... endless parodies. "Alfred E. Headroom" on the cover of MAD Magazine. The bickering Reagan and Khomeini Max-heads in "Back to the Future II." Comic routines ("What does Linda Lovelace have?") Political cartoons (Ronald Reagan appearing in "Doonesbury" as "Ron Headrest.") The image of a clever, stuffed-shirt, er-er-erratically speaking fake person was easily imitated and seemingly irresistible.

But the image of someone behind the curtain, behind the glass wall (real or figurative) and with access to the secret levers of power and control - and to the secrets lurking there - was even more intriguing. One of the keys to Max's popularity and success was that it poked fun at and asked hard questions of its own buoying medium. "Laugh-In" (1968) was perhaps the first to turn the mirror around on TV, followed shortly after its cancellation in 1973 by "Saturday Night Live." There were others; the deadly "Second City TV" (1976), the short-lived "Fridays" (1980) and, much later, "MAD TV" (1995) continued the tradition. But Max Headroom was the first prime-time offering to make vicious fun of ratings, advertising, producers's perceptions of viewers as stupid sheep - gleefully exposing things that were both true and secret.

MORE AT LINK -------> http://www.maxheadroom.com

[ConsAreLiars]

15. The aspect of the show I was reacting to was in these lines:

"But Max Headroom was the first prime-time offering to make vicious fun of ratings, advertising, producers's perceptions of viewers as stupid sheep - gleefully exposing things that were both true and secret."

Things Snow, or the WH Press Whores, would NEVER do. And as a character, Max Headroom was a bit brain damaged (one point in common) but he (it) had a strong ethical side, and in this respect the complete opposite of a corporatist trained monkey like snow.

[Radio_Lady]

17. Rebecca Dana was focusing on "surface" similarities -- the hair,

the smile, the face, etc. The connection was that they were both TV people first and foremost. I don't think she was really into deeply psychological or political profiling of these two.

I thought it was an interesting article from the New York Observer. I accept that fact that you may have judged this article more harshly than I have done this evening.

Good night -- actually good morning at 12:15 AM -- and good luck!

Radio_Lady

[ConsAreLiars]

18. I get that part of it.

Just hate to see one of my favorite TV characters/shows associated in any way - even superficially, based on appearances only - or compared to that particular piece of crud.

[Major Hogwash]

10. Max was funny though.

While Tony was only funny if you listened to him.

I wonder if Tony will call on Cameron all the time now to ask Faux-coordinated softball questions?

Like, "Is Bush doing a good job?" "Thanks for asking that question Cameron, . . . "

[Radio_Lady]

13. Tony will have a lot of 'splainin' to do, as his various posts to the

Freerepublic.com web site have now been scrubbed. However, today some of you DUers have managed to salvage caches of some of Snow's commentary.

Will the other reporters in the White House press corps -- roll over and play dead? Or will they savage him as they started to do with Scott McClellan in the past few months? Stay tuned --->

[Monk06]

19. "Freerepublic.com web site have now been scrubbed" >>>>>

I noticed that too. It was purged really fast like they
knew in advance that Snow was in. Almost like a KGB or
CIA cleaning crew came in on contract. Snow even posted an Opus.

Jim Robinson is probably one of the slimiest aparachiks
in the GOP disinformation machine. He gave Gannon's posts
a thorough scrubbing as well.

If anyone ever gets their hands on his drives there will
be enough dirt for a library of tell all books.

[calmblueocean]

11. I think using a partisan TV pundit as a public spokesperson is just wrong.

Public positions are supposed to have some sort of integrity, especially this one. The spokesperson for the White House isn't just supposed to "sell the president", he's supposed to be a civil servant.

I'd be just as upset if a Democratic president asked Michael Moore to be Press Secretary. This isn't supposed to be a Junior Bully Pulpit for Partisan Propaganda -- this is a public servant who is supposed to be the public liaison to the President. Yes, Scotty and Ari were phony baloney partisan bastards too, but at least they pretended to be fair. Tony Snow comes into this job as a partisan hack, a professional propagandist who thinks 49.5 of the country are "moonbats" who at best should be ignored and at worst surveilled and imprisoned. What's the point of even talking to the guy? Just to hear his spin? If I wanted to hear Tony Snow's BS I would've listened to his radio show.

This is just another indicator of how low we've sunk as a country.

What's the fucking difference between hiring Tony Snow and hiring Rush Limbaugh?

Snow subbed for Rush on the radio all the time! They're like two peas in a pod.

Just when I think they can't sink any lower, they find a way.

[Radio_Lady]

14. Your observation is shared by most of us, I am sure.

But, for now, maybe this is just another straw on the camel's back.

Let's give it some time to play out, shall we?

[Radio_Lady]

16. Slightly Off Topic: Mike Wallace was asked to be the press secretary

to Richard Nixon; although a Democrat, Mike stated he was captured by Nixon's intelligence and tough talk. Wallace thought Nixon would be a good President and I believe he voted for him.

Somewhere down the line, Mike Wallace was actually offered the job of press secretary. As Wallace reveals in his book, "Luckily, I turned it down."

[Bernardo de La Paz]

20. I give you a Meme: "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow"

I give you a Meme: "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow"

[Catherine Vincent]

26. He does have a slight resemblance to him. LOL!

[Swamp Rat]

27. Here ya go Radio_Lady:

I was inspired by your thread. :D

[Radio_Lady]

28. Thanks, Swamp Rat

Tony's VIVID, all right!