It's the policy, stupid

New White House Press Secretary Tony Snow isn't just another pretty face; he's also an astute political observer and an experienced broadcast journalist. But that doesn't mean he can save the rapidly fading political fortunes of the Bush White House.

Many politicians, including President Bush, simply don't seem to realize that their PR is only as good (or bad) as the policies they advocate. Or, as Democratic political strategist James Carville might say, It's the policy, stupid!

I learned a lot about public relations and public affairs (a nicer term for it) during more than 30 years as an official press spokesman, first for the State of Nevada and then for the U.S. government at American embassies abroad. Lesson No. 1 was that a spokesman, or press secretary, is at the mercy of his or her superiors Ð those who send him or her out to "sell" a particular policy. The fact is that there are certain dubious policies that are virtually impossible to peddle to skeptical journalists, no matter how telegenic or glib the designated spokesperson is.

For example, I wouldn't volunteer to become the spokesman for a company that makes hemorrhoid cream. Don't ask me why but that's a hard sell. More seriously, I wouldn't want to be Tony Snow right about now because of President Bush's flawed policies on illegal immigration, Iraq and so many other delicate and complicated political issues. Bush's so-called "guest worker" plan would legalize millions of illegal immigrants, and the public simply won't buy that one no matter how the president and his allies in both major parties try to disguise it.

As far as Iraq is concerned, it is now clear that the Bush administration botched that operation from start to finish. While most of us continue to support the War on Terrorism, we fail to see how the war in Iraq is making us safer. The cost in American lives (more than 2,400 and counting) and billions of taxpayer dollars is simply too high for whatever alleged "progress" we're making in a strife-torn country that's teetering on the brink of civil war even as we try to convince fractious and intimidated Iraqi politicians to implement a U.S.-style democracy there. Good luck!

These are only two of the misguided policies that former Fox News commentator Tony Snow must explain and defend as he takes over from the long-suffering Scott McClellan as White House Press Secretary. Snow has one advantage over McClellan; he's generally well known and well liked among his former colleagues in the elite Washington press corps, and they'll probably give him the benefit of the doubt at the outset. Poor McClellan was a Bush loyalist from Texas who never figured out how to get along with self-important Washington journalists. Press secretaries must discover how to maintain good relations with those proud and sensitive journalists as they attempt to peddle unpopular policies, and McClellan never did.

And I haven't even mentioned contentious domestic issues such as high gas prices - No. 1 on this week's political hit parade - and seemingly endemic Republican corruption in Congress. Here in Nevada, the Bush administration continues to push construction of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, which is opposed by some 70 percent of Nevada voters. Fortunately for us, that highly toxic project won't happen as long as Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada remains in Congress.

During my lengthy career as a policy spokesman in Nevada and seven foreign countries, I was fortunate to have at least two valid policies or projects to "sell": (1) the Frank Sinatra gambling license revocation action in Nevada in 1963 and (2) the Grenada "rescue mission" (invasion) in 1983. Those were my two 15-seconds-of-fame moments and in both cases, I was personally committed to the policies I was defending.

Gov. Grant Sawyer's "hang tough" gaming control policy was exactly what Nevada needed at a time when the state was attempting to clean-up the legal gambling business and keep the Mob out. And in Grenada, President Reagan's bold action brought peace to a small Caribbean island after an unsuccessful coup attempt by Cuban-led Communist insurgents, and made it possible for the Grenadians to elect their own leaders.

On the other hand, it was tough to defend the Vietnam War when I first went overseas in 1968, and later it was virtually impossible to explain President Carter's failed rescue attempt in the desert during the long-running Iran hostage crisis. I tried without much success to tell that sad story to a group of incredulous (and I don't blame them) American businessmen who were visiting Madrid, Spain at the time. I hunkered down and did my job, but it wasn't my (or America's) finest hour.

Those are the kinds of hot-button issues that Tony Snow will face as chief spokesman for a struggling lame-duck president. Although he's well qualified for his new job, Snow will surely have his uncomfortable, if not impossible, moments with an aggressive and cynical White House press corps. In the final analysis, however, the administration's PR will only be as good (or bad) as its policies because no matter how much perfume you pour on a goat, it's still a goat after all is said and done.

•••

Sinatra talk: I'm presenting a reprise of my talk on the 1963 Frank Sinatra gambling license revocation case at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Gold Hill Hotel and my loyal readers are cordially invited. See you there!

• Guy W. Farmer, a semi-retired journalist and former U.S. diplomat, resides in Carson City.