Editorial: New face of the White House

Thursday, April 27, 2006 | 7:13 a.m.

President Bush on Wednesday named Fox News commentator Tony Snow to serve as White House spokesman. Bush administration officials hope Snow, a conservative pundit well known by the reporters with whom he soon will joust, can help smooth their rocky relationship with the media.

It is likely the affable Snow will contrast well with his predecessor, the prickly Scott McClellan, as press secretary. Snow also is a rare Bush hire in that he is not someone who has close ties to the president.

Snow should serve the American people as well as the president. One way of accomplishing this would be to make Bush's unusually secretive White House and its staff more accessible to the media and, more important , to the public.

Snow reportedly agreed to take the job on the condition that he be included in policy discussions. He should be. And he should share more of the business of the White House with the public than his predecessors in the Bush administration, who seemed to revel in keeping even basic details under wraps.

A new press secretary, or even a whole new staff, cannot boost the poll numbers for a White House that is advocating unpopular policies and searching for a message. But, at the very least, a new spirit of openness would serve the public well. The key is whether Bush has the will to be more open, something he hasn't shown us so far.