White House Press Secretary Tony Snow Resigns; Dana Perino Named as Replacement

In a press release announced today, the White House announced that Press Secretary Tony Snow has resigned. Dana Perino, who is from Colorado, will be replacing Snow as Press Secretary. Snow will be leaving on September 14th.

Snow was originally diagnosed with cancer in 2005 and had his colon removed and had six months of chemotherapy treatment. This past spring, he had surgery to remove a growth in his abdominal area, near the site of his original cancer. He was out of work for five weeks during which time Perino stepped in for him. His doctors have said that his original cancer has returned.

Perino has been deputy White House press secretary since April 2007. She has been President Bush's main press liaison and communications advisor during Snow's absences and has gained the trust of President Bush and the respect of other journalists.

When discussing this change, the Denver Post reported that Mark Silva, White House correspondent for the Chicago Tribune said, "The press office is running better now than before, and she is one of the reasons. She does not just go for a talking point."

No stranger to politics, Perino graduated from the University of Southern Colorado in Pueblo in 1994 and briefly worked as a television reporter. She also had a brief stint as a staff assistant for former Rep. Scott McInnis. She landed her first press secretary position in 1995 for the late Colorado Congressman Dan Schaefer. She worked for Schaefer until his retirement in 1999 before spending the next seven years in a variety of public relations positions.

Her typical day begins at 4:30 a.m. when she wakes up and reads several newspapers while exercising to start a 16-hour day. It is not uncommon for her to receive more than 600 e-mails from reporters each day.

Snow is just the latest in a string of people who have announced their intent to leave President Bush's administration in the past months.