WASHINGTON - White House press secretary Tony Snow is taking his gift of gab across the country in the coming weeks to raise money for Republican candidates, an unusual task for the president's top spokesman. ADVERTISEMENT On the job just four months, the former Fox News commentator is in-demand on the GOP circuit. He said he decided to help maintain the party's majority in Congress after some consideration of his proper role — and that doesn't include a lot of red meat rhetoric like some speakers offer at partisan events.
"They asked, and I thought about it a lot and we went back and forth," Snow said. "It's one of those things where I certainly want to help the president. But you have to make sure it's a fine line, and that's why I don't want to get into opponent bashing.
"The approach I'm going to take is not going to be one of going out and whacking Democrats by name, but straightforward comments about what the president has accomplished," Snow said.
Snow already has been speaking at some events with Republican activists, such as an appearance before about 800 with the Pennsylvania Republican Party on Sept. 15. But his first big candidate fundraisers come next week, when he headlines fundraisers for Reps. Jean Schmidt in his hometown of Cincinnati and Geoff Davis of a neighboring district in northern Kentucky. Expectations are high, with Republicans hoping for as much as $100,000-$150,000 per appearance.
White House political director Sara Taylor, who handles political scheduling for all senior administration officials, said she's slated Snow for about half a dozen fundraisers in the final month of the campaign and may add more. She said Republicans who have been watching Snow for years on Fox and are intrigued by his new job are eager to meet him.
"This is a new person who is a great messenger, who is very funny, who is very affable and who people like to be around," she said.
Snow said taxpayers will not pay for any of his travel — the bill is being footed by the Republican National Committee. He said fundraising is "fairly unusual ground" for a sitting press secretary, and he won't hesitate to cancel a political appearance if he's needed at the White House.
"If there's a conflict between that and my day job, then the day job wins," he said.
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