Tony Snow

Just a month after Gov. Beasley lost his re-election bid, I was in New Orleans for the Republican Governors Association annual meeting. At a party, I met Tony, and based on his experience of working for President George H.W. Bush, I asked him, "Do you ever really get over losing?" He looked me straight in the eye -- or, since he's several inches taller than me, looked down into my eye -- and said, "No, you really don't. It'll be OK, but you never do get over it."

Tony didn't tell me what I wanted to hear. He told me the truth, as he saw it. He also took a few minutes of time with someone he didn't know.

The President's success or failure rests really on the President's shoulders, not on the person who is the press secretary. But in as much as the press secretary can help, the President made a good selection. And more importantly, he picked a good human being. In my book, that counts for something.