Tony Snow! Freaking Tony Snow!

I know, I know, "White House Spokesperson" isn't exactly the job for a guy who'll challenge the administration. In a lot of ways, the White House hiring a truly public partisan for the job is kind of refreshing. We all know what to expect now, don't we?

Still, it's a bit unprecedented. Think back to the administration of Bush's Dad -- if I'd told you that he'd hire Rush Limbaugh as press secretary, you'd have dismissed the very notion as unworthy of a substantive reason why not.

So, my feelings are a tad mixed on this. On one hand... it's no big deal that Bush hires an obvious partisan for one of the most obviously partisan jobs in the administration. On the other hand... it's never been quite so blatant before, has it? And it certainly lends credence to the notion that this White House prefers Fox News above all other outlets.

The Press Secretary is always, no matter who's in charge, "The Shill in Chief." Look at poor Scott McLellan, who had to back Scooter Libby with blunt words, and then had to eat those words when it'd turned out he'd been lied to. That's the job. Snow will do it well.

But... really... it's like there's nothing truly wrong with this except for the fact that it's such an unapologetic and blatant example of what the job really is. I guess, without much complaint, I view the Bush Administration hiring Tony Snow as its mouthpiece not as anything horrible, but as something horribly revealing. It's as if an unspoken truth that we all knew has been screamed by the loudest voice from the highest perch.