How Many Press Secretaries Does One President Need?

When Tony Snow announced he was leaving his position as White House Press Secretary in mid August there was a murmur among the press that just when you get used to one press secretary, another comes to replace him.

George Bush's administration has included four Press Secretaries including Ari Fleisher, who was appointed in 2001 and left his post in 2003. He was replaced by Scott McClellan who served three years and was replaced by Tony Snow. (Dana Perino, the unofficial fourth Press Secretary, acted as secretary while Snow underwent medical procedures in March 2007.)

Although it may seem as if they come and go with the season, Bush is the fourth president to appoint four secretaries during his administration.

Due to tragedy, Harry Truman was served by no fewer than five.

Jonathan W. Daniels was appointed Press Secretary under Franklin Roosevelt; and when Roosevelt died in office, Daniels continued to serve Truman for four months, becoming the shortest serving press Secretary since the inception of the post. In March of 1945 Truman appointed Charles G. Ross. Ross served so loyally that he died at his desk in 1950.

Steven Early, who had been Roosevelt's Press Secretary, stepped in to fill the post temporarily until Joseph Short was appointed. When Mr. Short died at 48 of an unexpected heart attack, Roger Tubby filled the post to the end of Truman's term.

Lyndon B. Johnson had four Press Secretaries, starting with Pierre Salinger who was appointed by John F. Kennedy. (Out of respect for Kennedy's choices, Johnson retained a lot of his cabinet throughout his term.) When Salinger resigned in 1964, George Reedy took his position. Reedy is most famous for saying of Johnson. ""He may have been a son of a bitch. But he was a colossal son of a bitch." His successor, journalist Bill Moyers, must have seen the truth in the statement when he said, "I work for him despite his faults and he lets me work for him despite my deficiencies." In 1966 George Christian took the post and stayed with Johnson through the toughest years of his presidency, The Vietnam War.