The Spokesman Made for Cable

"This has become rather less refreshing as Snow, while claiming access to Bush's sanctum sanctorum, continues to use the phrase -- more than 400 times so far in televised briefings and interviews. Sometimes, it seems more of a tic than a response; usually, it's a brushoff. . . .

"Unsurprisingly, this method has done some damage to briefer-questioner relations. It doesn't help that Snow, though admired for his quick wit, has been lobbing names at his inquisitors. After labeling as 'partisan' a question from NBC's David Gregory last week, Snow accused CBS's Jim Axelrod yesterday of asking a 'loaded' question; the two men exchanged unpleasant looks. Snow further branded a question by Fox's Bret Baier as 'cynical' and one from [CNN's Elaine] Quijano as 'facile.'"

From his very first formal briefing, on May 16, Snow has often put his foot in it. (At that one, he said his reaction to the 2,500th American death in Iraq was that "it's a number" and he used a phrase -- "tar baby" -- that some consider racist.)

And he is frequently combative. As I described in my June 16 column, Snow often demands that reporters define the terms that he himself has just used.

Sometimes, he picks fights over obvious facts. Case in point, at Wednesday's press briefing, he was asked about testimony from Bush's new spy chief that Osama bin Laden is alive in Pakistan and reestablishing training camps. Snow responded by suggesting that bin Laden might not really be the leader of al Qaeda.

While the press corps rarely complains about the press secretary, Snow is due to encounter protesters tonight when he speaks at the Bush Library on the Texas A&M campus on " The Press and the Presidency."

A spokesman for the groups planning the protest, David McWhirter, said in a statement: "Tony Snow on a daily basis provides misinformation and 'spin' that have contributed significantly to the Bush administration's pursuit of the misguided, illegal and immoral war in Iraq."

Bush and Katrina

Ben Feller writes for the Associated Press: "President Bush on Thursday acknowledged the deep frustration of Hurricane Katrina victims and said the federal government shares the blame for the slow recovery of the Gulf Coast.

"He gave residents of the battered region a message: 'The federal government still knows you exist.'"

Maura Reynolds writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Stung by criticism that he and his administration had neglected the hurricane-tattered Gulf Coast, President Bush on Thursday made his first visit to the region in six months, proclaiming, 'This is a hopeful day.'

"Bush, standing in a muddy lot near new homes in Long Beach, Miss., said: 'Part of the reason I've come down is to tell people here in the Gulf Coast that we still think about them in Washington. . . . Times are changing for the better, and people's lives are improving. And there is hope.'"

Another really helpful blast of reassurance from the president, in his remarks at a cafe in New Orleans: "Sometimes it's hard to see progress when you're living close to the scene."